I love you more than life itself
by Lilyana Turner
Summary: Legolas's father forces him into a marriage. His best friend tries to get him out of it. Will be romance in later chapters. FINALLY! ROMANCE! All flames will be thrown at the commodore. Epilogue up! IT'S FINISHED!
1. I'm DOOMED!

Summary: Legolas's father forces him into an unwanted marriage with a girl he has never met. When his friend, Maqueden, offers to help him, he gratefully accepts. Through a series of interrogations, Legolas finds that Kyriana does not want to marry him, either. In the midst of all this, he begins to have feelings for Maqueden, and she for him. The wedding is still not off, however. With the fateful day drawing closer, what will the trio do? And where is Elenna in all of this? Crushing on a certain ranger... Madness, fluff, and humor are in store for you! And yes, there will be an ending! ( I hope!  
  
Rating: Pg... for now. May go up to PG13 for later chapters.  
  
Characters- Legolas, Thranduil (please forgive me if I spelled his name wrong... I tried...) Maqueden,Elenna, Kyriana, Novancaion, and Aratäriel.  
  
Legolas sighed. Falling back onto his bed, the elven archer groaned. His feet ached, his back ached, and his head ached... There was not a part of him that didn't ache. Giving himself some time to rest before going to bathe, he reflected on the day's events. First, he had rescued a toddler from a hive of bees, become covered in honey, and gotten several bee stings. Then he had washed off, rescued the same toddler from being kicked by a horse, and found the little rascal's family. Then he had come back to the palace to do his lessons, which he absolutely detested. Then he trained for three hours to perfect his archery. Not that it needed perfecting, it just kept him away from his father and his older brothers.  
  
A knock on the door brought him back to reality. Sitting up, he called, "Come in!"  
  
Thranduil walked in. Sitting down on the end of his son's bed, he looked down at the figure who was now sprawled out on the bed. "A very good friend of mine and his daughter are coming tomorrow." The king began, slowly. He hated being the bearer of bad news and he knew, given the chance, that Legolas would definitely shoot the messenger with his perfect archery skills. Legolas nodded, his eyes closed. Thranduil knew his son was exhausted, making his escape easier. "I wish for you to meet her. You shall be married in a year's time."  
  
At that, Legolas's eyes flew open. He sat up on the bed, mouth open. "WHAT?" He asked, clearly confused.  
  
"It would be for diplomatic reasons. She needs a husband, it is proper, and I consider it time that you get off your behind and find yourself a wife." Thranduil said, keeping one eye the door and the other on Legolas, just in case.  
  
"I don't need a wife. I can take care of myself." Legolas insisted.  
  
"Not well enough. You still have honey in your hair. Be up early tomorrow, I want to make a good impression on her father. This is good for you." Thranduil said, standing and moving for the door.  
  
"What about what I want?" Legolas exploded. "Can I not at least have the dignity to chose my own wife?"  
  
"Unfortunately, no." Thranduil said. "Now get going. Your bath is drawn." And with that, the king left the room, leaving behind a very frustrated prince.  
  
******** 1 hour later******  
  
Legolas sat on his bed, braiding his hair. A knock on the door made him look up suddenly, and his braid unraveled before he had time to finish it. Sighing, he stood, walked to the door, and pulled it open. There stood Maqueden, who was grinning from ear to ear. Her blonde hair with a hint of red fell nearly to her waist, covering the tips of her pointed ears. She was wearing a pale blue loose shirt and trousers.  
  
"So?" She asked, walking into the room. "Who is it? Who's the lucky lady?"  
  
Legolas rolled his eyes and went back to braiding his hair.  
  
"Hey, it could be worse. You could be marrying Arwen... Oh, I bet your father would love that!"  
  
At that comment, Legolas let go of his braid and it unraveled again. He stood, glaring at Maqueden, who laughed at him.  
  
"You just can't hold onto that thing, can you?" She asked, the amusement in her voice covering up how she really felt about this prince. And it wasn't the fact that he was the prince that made her love him... She loved him simply because he was there to chase away her fears and bring light into a dark world again. The only problem was... he didn't know. And she didn't intend to tell him anytime soon.  
  
"All right, if you can do it better, then by all means, do so!" Legolas cried in frustration. He tossed her a comb and turned, arms crossed, sitting in a position that made it easy for her to reach the left side of his head.  
  
"All right." Maqueden hopped off the bed, stood beside Legolas, and quickly began to braid his hair. Taking the comb from him, she said, "You still haven't answered my question. Who is it?"  
  
"I don't know. I've never met her. The only thing I know about her is that she is the daughter of one of father's friends..." He stopped talking and gazed out the window. "What I wouldn't give to be out there right now! Away from... This!"  
  
"Oh no you don't, your royalness." Maqueden said, teasing him with the nickname she had for him. Noticing the glare in his eyes as he looked back to her, she asked, "You really don't want to do this, do you?" Her tone was gentler as she stood beside him and looked out the window, over the kingdom of Mirkwood.  
  
"No!" Legolas sighed, frustrated. "My father thinks that he can just march in here and take control of my life.... That he can find me a wife with no trouble at all by asking some friend of his to give his daughter to me! If and when I get married, I want to marry someone I love, not someone I've never met!" He groaned, collapsing onto the bed. "Besides, I don't think I'll ever love anyone."  
  
"Mmmm hmmm." Maqueden said sarcastically, the comb in her mouth as she braided his hair. "There are plenty of cute girls out there who would give an arm to just talk to you. Chances are, one of them is right for you."  
  
"Ada's worried about lineage." Legolas said.  
  
"Ah. Well, that presents a problem, doesn't it?" Maqueden said dryly. She shrugged. "Maybe you should just hang the rules and chose who you want to love. Worry about what your father says later."  
  
"I wish it was that simple." Legolas said, touching the braid that framed his face. Maqueden handed him the comb and leaned against the wall, her head to the side as she looked at the man she loved. He grinned at her, showing off his beautiful smile, before asking, "Where is your sister?"  
  
"At home." Maqueden answered, her head turned back to the window. "She's tired. I'm letting her rest... Bu the way, I've got to go. I promised Elenna I would do dinner tonight..." Maqueden said. Legolas stood and walked her to the door. "See you tomorrow!" She called. And with that, she left. Legolas groaned and fell back into his bed, not even bothering to tie back his wet hair.  
  
Looking at the door where Maqueden had been moments earlier, Legolas rolled onto his stomach. He began to think of ways to get himself out of this marriage, but all the good ones involved him asking for help. Sighing in frustration, he blew out his candle and stared at the ceiling until he found the comfort of sleep. At least there his dreams were happier.  
  
*********** With Maqueden and Elenna**********  
  
"So? How was your day?" Maqueden asked cheerfully as she walked into the house.  
  
"About as good as it can get being a maid." Elenna answered. "I'm exhausted!" Falling back onto the couch and laying her head back, she asked, "How was yours?"  
  
Maqueden sighed. "Interesting, to say the least." She answered, finding a match, striking it, and putting a pot of water on the stove to boil. "Legolas is getting married."  
  
Elenna's head came up. "What?!" She squeaked, eyeing Maqueden suspiciously. "Is this a joke?"  
  
"I swear it's the God honest truth!" Maqueden said. "Thranduil has a friend who has a daughter who is being forced into a marriage with Legolas who does not want to do this." She paused for air. Sighing, she continued. "I bet she does, though. I mean, honestly! Who wouldn't want to marry the prince of Mirkwood and all his beauty?"  
  
"Me." Elenna said quietly. Noticing the faraway look in Elenna's eyes, Maqueden sighed. She had a much bigger problem on her hands if Elenna still hadn't given up hope on Astoldominien. "Elenna?" Maqueden asked, touching her twin sister gently on the shoulder.  
  
"Hmm? Oh, sorry." Elenna said. "I was... thinking." She finished weakly.  
  
Maqueden sighed. "Elenna, you have got to learn to let him go. He's gone!"  
  
"I can hold on to what little dream I had, can I not?" Elenna asked harshly. "I loved him."  
  
"But he never loved you in return. He never will love you in return." Maqueden said gently. "Let him go."  
  
"I don't want to!" Elenna said, defiance in her eyes, head held high.  
  
"Elenna, please... move on... for me. This is slowly killing you, destroying you from the inside out."  
  
"An elf only truly loves once. I've found love... and I've lost love. Nothing matters to me anymore." Elenna said slowly. "If the Valar wanted to take him, they're going to have to take me, too."  
  
"Elenna..." Maqueden began. Sighing, she left her sentence there, preparing dinner in silence. For an hour or more, the only sounds in the kitchen were the sounds of the knife hitting the cutting board and Elenna's slow and steady breathing as she slept on the sofa. "Do you want anything to eat? We're having soup tonight..." Maqueden said, gently waking Elenna. Putting a small portion onto her plate and giving the rest of the pot to Elenna, she said, "It's not a lot... but it's enough."  
  
Elenna sighed and picked at her food. Maqueden, who was watching Elenna, said, "Please eat something. You need it."  
  
"I'm not hungry." Elenna said. Yawning, she continued. "I'm tired... I think I'll turn in early tonight, all right?" As she left the table, a single tear rolled down one cheek, leaving behind a translucent streak. Sullenly she fled the room, and moments later, Maqueden heard strangled sobs coming from her sister's room. She let her sister comfort herself, knowing it would do much better to grieve silently than have someone there to help her. Elenna was too strong to ask for comfort- at least for now.  
  
Maqueden stared at her food, silently thinking about her own secret love. How long could she keep her feelings hidden from Legolas? Silently she picked at her food, thinking about all that she had hidden from him in her life. She was doing all right now... But what happened when she could not contain it any longer? What happened when this façade she had built came crumbling around her, and she was left, exposed with the naked truth? Was she doomed to be like Elenna, to love a man who did not return her love? To die slowly from a broken heart? Slowly she ate her dinner, cleaned the kitchen, and went into her room. She drifted away to a happier place, and dreamt of the love she and Legolas could have for one another... If only he knew.  
  
A/N: Astoldominien (ass-toll-dough-men-ee-in) is an elf who pledged love to Elenna a hundred years before this story takes place. He left, promising to return, but never did so. The pain from it is slowly killing Elenna.  
  
Also, if you hated this, please don't tell me. Go flame someone who cares. There will be fluff in later chapters. REVIEW!!!!!! I LOVE REVIEWS!!!!! All flames will be thrown at Elizabeth Swann, who stole Will Turner from me! DIE ELIZABETH!!! Haha, just kidding... She's cool... 


	2. Meeting Kyriana

Kyriana sat atop her horse, riding through the forests of Mirkwood. The trees moved slowly by as she sat straight as a stick in the hard saddle, her feet dangling over the sides, out of their stirrups. She hated riding. Well, actually, she was afraid of horses. Which caused her to hate riding. Even worse was riding in a skirt. Worse still was riding in a full-blown dress. Sighing in despair, she slumped in her saddle.  
  
"Kyriana!" Her father hissed, glaring at her. "Sit up straight! You are riding in royal company!" Nodding ahead to a tiny dot she could just barely make out, he turned and stared straight ahead, his back rigid as he swayed in his saddle.  
  
Leave it to Ada to ignore my happiness but to notice when and where I show the first signs of incorrect manners. She thought. "Yes, Ada." She replied. The response had become almost second nature to her. Her father was a control freak who often slapped her when she did not reply in correct time or tone. He was also a power hungry nutcase who cared nothing for his daughter's wellbeing as long as she was out of his way. Why he didn't let her leave the house and live somewhere with her friend was beyond her.  
  
A cough brought her back to reality. There, standing at the palace gates, was King Thranduil and his son. Legolas. The man she was destined to marry. The man who would one day rule all of Mirkwood with her by his side. Legolas was gorgeous! His long, golden blonde hair fell just below his shoulders. Two braids framed his face.  
  
Kyriana immediately regretted her daydreaming. The look of annoyance on her father's face told her that she had done something wrong. Cringing as she dismounted from the saddle (her rear end was sore) She landed on the ground with a soft thump. She looked a mess. One bootstring was untied, her sash had come undone, and her hair was tangled around her face. Her skirts swished around her ankles as she walked to greet Legolas and Thranduil.  
  
"Your majesty." Kyriana said, curtsying to Thranduil as her father had instructed her to do. "Your highness." As she curtsied to Legolas, her hair fell into her face. Brushing it away with a dreadful feeling that she had done something else wrong, she followed the three men inside the castle.  
  
Many of the slaps she received could have been avoided. Take this one, for example. She had tried to persuade her father to let her braid her hair instead of wearing it down, but nooooo. "You'll be wearing it in a braid enough when you are pregnant with his child." Her father had said. "Let him see you with it down once." She had tried to protest, but when he had slapped her for it, she quieted down. She lived in constant fear of doing something wrong or displeasing someone. Would Legolas hurt her? Probably not. His kind and gentle features spoke of someone with an open heart, someone who would love her as a sister if he did not love her as a wife. Someone who would be the brother she never had.  
  
Her father had often threatened her with her life if she told anyone that he hit her. More than once he had broken a bone, but it healed quickly and she was able to make up a story for her friends. But here in Mirkwood she had no one to watch her back, no one to guard her in her weak moments. For now, she was alone with the man she called father.  
  
Walking up the steps into the palace quickly, she followed exactly three steps behind her father, who was following Legolas, who was following Thranduil. After showing her father to his room, Thranduil said something quietly to Legolas. The golden haired prince smiled, then turned and said, "Follow me."  
  
They walked for a few minutes, Kyriana staying three steps behind him. This, too, had become second nature for her. As he led her down the hall, he turned and said, "You can walk beside me, you know."  
  
Kyriana look at the floor, her ears red. She didn't answer him. Instead, she thought, there is something else I did wrong! When he opened a door and motioned her in, she followed willingly. Handing her the key, he said, "If you need anything... ask one of the servants. Someone will be in shortly." He left, feeling quite awkward. Heading for his brother's room, he opened the door without knocking.  
  
"Novancaion?" He asked, flopping down on the bed. "Are you in here?"  
  
"Yes, I'm in here. What's on your mind, elfling?" He asked, teasing his little brother.  
  
"Ada's forcing me to get married to this girl I hardly even know and I don't want to do it and I don't know what to do but he tells me it's the best thing for me and her but I don't want to do it so how can it be the best thing for me and I-''  
  
"Slow down, Legolas." Novancaion coolly intervened. "You don't want to marry this girl..."  
  
"Kyriana."  
  
"Right. You don't want to marry Kyriana but Ada's forcing you to." Novancaion said, sitting down on a corner of the bed in a very princely manner.  
  
"Right." The youngest prince groaned. "Why can't I find love in simple place like you?" He asked, eyes closed, stretched out on the bed.  
  
The prince-like attitude disappeared. In it's place was a grin and a playful look. "Finding love with Allyiah was the hardest thing I've ever had to do." Novancaion said, chuckling in memory. "Talk to her. Get to know her. You might be surprised how well you'll get along."  
  
"I might. We might have nothing in common."  
  
"That could be true too. Now go. Wash up. Tonight is your first night as an engaged elf. You need to be clean." With that he pushed Legolas gently out of the room. With nowhere left to go, the youngest prince sighed in defeat and went to take his bath.  
  
********************Kyriana's POV********************  
  
Kyriana lay on her bed, eyes closed in deep thought. Legolas was not the kind of person who would hurt her... she hoped. His father and brothers... she couldn't be so sure. Sighing, she looked up at the ceiling, her eyes following the cracks where the wood had stopped.  
  
When a bell rang somewhere in the castle she sighed again, rolled off the bed, and walked out the door, pocketing the key. Taking a deep breath, she tried to follow her nose to the dining room, but had no such luck. "Well, then." She thought. "I'll just walk until I find it." And so she did. She walked straight down the deserted hall in what she hoped was the right direction.  
  
She walked. And she walked. And she walked. And she walked some more. She walked until she was in a deserted part of the castle. Dust covered the walls and the floor. "This obviously isn't right." She thought, turning back. Instead she bumped into a solid brick wall. "Well." She thought, her mind racing as she tried to find her way back. She passed a portrait that seemed vaguely familiar, then another, and another, until she found her way back to her room. This time there was a servant walking down the hall.  
  
"Excuse me!" She called out, hurriedly wiping the dust from her dress.  
  
"Yes, miss?" The girl turned back.  
  
"I'm trying to find my way to the dining room. Could you point me in the right direction?"  
  
"Yes, ma'am. Go straight down this hall. Take the first left you come to, then immediately turn right. You should be able to follow your nose from there."  
  
"Thank you!" Kyriana called after the girl's retreating back. She started down the hall for the second time that day. When she finally stumbled into the dining room a half-hour late, her father sent a death glare her way. Thranduil and Legolas laughed sympathetically as she told them about her adventured with the deserted west wing.  
  
She enjoyed her dinner and forgot about what was actually happening in her life. After dinner, though, it all came back to her. She found herself facing her very angry father, who obviously wasn't effected by the elven wine he had drunk during dinner. "What was that?" He asked, his jaw clenched shut as he tried to contain his anger.  
  
"There was no one to ask help from! By the time I could-"  
  
"Don't talk back to me, young lady." Her father slapped her across the cheek. Hard. Tears welled up in her eyes but she refused to let them fall.  
  
"But you-"  
  
"I said, don't talk back." He slapped her again, this time harder than the last. Kyriana winced but stood her ground.  
  
Numbly, she nodded. Refusing to stand down she glared defiantly at her father... and received another slap.  
  
"Go. Talk with your husband." Her father sneered. "And if you ever pull a stunt like that again, your excuse will be your last."  
  
Kyriana walked away from his room, shaking in fear. Her father had just threatened to kill her. She was unlocking the door of her room when Legolas appeared. Noticing the red handprint on her face, he asked, "What happened?"  
  
"Nothing." She lied. "I fell down."  
  
"Kyriana..."  
  
"It's the truth!" She cried. "I tripped over my skirt and fell down."  
  
"You do not get handprints on your cheek from tripping. Skinned hands and knees or elbows, sure." Laying a cool hand on her cheek and turning her face toward his, he paused. "Who did this to you?"  
  
"No one. I fell." She unlocked her door and stepped inside. "Now, if you will excuse me, I think I will retire. I am tired from my journey. It has been a long day." She closed the door. She waited until she heard his footsteps fading down the hall, then buried her face in a pillow and cried.  
  
********************Legolas's POV********************  
  
Legolas sighed. The day had gone pretty well for what he had expected. Kyriana was nice, but she was not the kind of person he could see himself falling in love with. He sat on his bed, thinking. What happened to her? Who had hit her? Surely she hadn't fallen... He could see the bright red handprint of her face that marked that she had been slapped. Three times. And hard, at that.  
  
"Legolas?" A female voice asked.  
  
"What?" The voice jerked him out of his thoughts. Maqueden stood at the door, smiling at him.  
  
"You look happy. Perhaps this arranged marriage is going to work out after all?" She said, mistaking the strange expression on his face for a smile.  
  
"Perhaps not." He sighed. "She's nice, but she's not the kind of person I see myself falling for." He sighed.  
  
"Something wrong?" She asked, her gaze going to the window.  
  
"No." He sighed. Deciding to keep his troubles with Kyriana to himself, he asked, "How was your day?"  
  
"About as good as one can get working in a laundromat." She sighed. "I should win an award for the 'most shriveled fingers' or something..." Holding up her hands and showing him her pruned fingers, she sighed. "Anyway, how was yours?"  
  
"Not as bad as I thought it would be." He sighed. "We need something to do!"  
  
"Well, your hair isn't braided..."  
  
"Knock yourself out." Legolas said, tossing her the comb. She stood behind him, her fingers working quickly to braid it. Tying it off, she looked out the window.  
  
"Let me braid yours?" Legolas asked, taking the comb from her. His fingers ran through her hair, ridding it of any tangles.  
  
"Why not?" She answered. His fingers were gentle as he undid the simple braid she wore and created another, more intricate one. In a few minutes he finished. Putting the comb away and brushing a few untamable strands of her strawberry blonde hair out of her face, he smiled. "Much as I love your company, I have to go talk to Kyriana." When she followed him out the door and down the hall, he turned. "The door is that way, Maqueden." He said, turning her and showing her the door.  
  
"I know. I'm following you. I want to meet the girl who is taking my little Leggy away from me."  
  
"Oh yes, Valar knows if you don't approve, no one will." Legolas said sarcastically. He rolled his eyes and knocked softly on Kyriana's door.  
  
"What?" She asked, poking her head nervously out the door. "I didn't tell him, I swear!" Then, seeing Legolas and Maqueden standing there, she blushed. "Oh. It's you." Smiling quite fixedly, she invited them in.  
  
"Kyriana, this is Maqueden. Maqueden, this is Kyriana." Legolas introduced the two girls.  
  
"Nice to meet you." They said at the same time. The three laughed quietly. Then, a silence came over the room. Legolas sighed. That was the only noise in the room for well over a minute.  
  
Legolas broke the silence by asking, "Anyone hungry? I can get some food from the kitchens..."  
  
"Men." Maqueden muttered, looking at Legolas. "You just ate!"  
  
"I know."  
  
Maqueden rolled her eyes and sighed. "You're impossible."  
  
"So are you."  
  
"Not as impossible as you are!"  
  
A small giggle made them look to Kyriana. They had almost forgotten she was there.  
  
A bell rang outside. "I've got to go." Maqueden said, the time of night finally registering in her mind. "Anyone care to walk with me?"  
  
"I will." Legolas volunteered. The duo looked at Kyriana, who sighed.  
  
"I don't like to be outside in the dark." She admitted rather sheepishly. "I think I'll stay here."  
  
Nodding, the two left. Walking through the dark forest at night was a bit spooky, but that made it all the more fun. Sometimes they would even tell ghost stories as they walked. Once, when they were young, Legolas got so scared that he stayed at Maqueden's house for the night, afraid to go back.  
  
Often they would play "Remember When..." The game included telling some of their more embarrassing moments or those shared with someone else. Legolas often told the story of the time he had been at Rivendell and Estel had been no older than a toddler. After refusing to take a bath for Legolas, the baby finally got in the tub (quite unwillingly) for Elladan and Elrohir. Afterwards, however, the twins had gotten into a disagreement and Estel had slipped quietly away. He had been found the next morning running through the halls stark naked, by a very distraught Elrond and a very amused Glorfindel.  
  
But this night they walked in silence. There was much to reflect on, and walking provided the best time for reflecting. Finally, Maqueden spoke, breaking the heavy silence that had settled around them. "She seems... nice."  
  
"She is. She's just so... quiet, so withdrawn. It's almost like she's afraid to speak for fear that she will do something wrong." The leaves crunched under his feet as he walked beside his best friend.  
  
"She probably is. Being in front of royalty for the first time is quite distressing, you know." Maqueden laughed, remembering how she and Legolas met.  
  
"She shouldn't be afraid, though. It's almost like... It's almost like she's afraid of something. Or... someone." Legolas sighed again, frustrated.  
  
"Like who?" Maqueden demanded sharply.  
  
"I don't know!" Legolas cried, throwing up his hands. "It could be me or my family. Perhaps it's being in Mirkwood. Being in a strange place with strange people and being expected to be perfect all the time. Perhaps it's her father. There are a plethora of things it could be. But I'm going to find out."  
  
Maqueden smiled, stopping in front of her door. "Good luck." She said, her hand on the doorknob. "If you want help getting out of this... find me. I'll help you."  
  
"Thanks. I might just take you up on that offer." Legolas said. He bent to give her a quick kiss on the cheek before turning and vanishing into the woods.  
  
Maqueden stood, stunned. THE prince of Mirkwood had just KISSED her! Okay, so maybe it wasn't a REAL kiss... But it was close enough for her! Giddily she skipped into the house where Elenna lay, collapsed on the couch.  
  
"I take it you had a good day?"  
  
"It was very good. Yours?"  
  
"Painful. I missed a spot on the mantle and Elian slapped me for it."  
  
"Elian is a demonic little person who calls himself an elf. If you don't want to work for him, then stop. Otherwise..." Maqueden shrugged. "Have you already eaten or do I need to fix something?"  
  
"I'm not hungry."  
  
"Oh, no you don't. You are going to eat something if I have to force-feed it to you. This is four meals you've missed. Even elves need to eat."  
  
"I tell you, I'm not hungry!" Elenna said defensively. "But fine, if you're going to force-feed me, let me have the dignity to feed myself."  
  
"That's more like it. What do you want to eat?"  
  
"I don't know. Surprise me. No meat, though."  
  
Maqueden shuddered. "HOW can you only eat vegetables?! They're all... green, and leafy! Bleargh!"  
  
"To each her own." Elenna said. Maqueden grimaced and began to fix Elenna a salad. Setting the bowl down on the table with a fork, Maqueden watched as her sister ate.  
  
After sitting for a while in complete silence, Elenna said, "All right, spill. You're never this happy this late at night. Who is he?"  
  
"Well... You know him..."  
  
"Maqueden... we're too old for these games! Just tell me who he is!"  
  
"He's blonde."  
  
"Oh, well that helps." Elenna said, distraught. "Please?"  
  
"Oh for the love of the Valar!" Maqueden cried. "How many blonde male elves do I know?"  
  
"LEGOLAS?!?" Elenna asked, dropping her fork and the lettuce it had speared in surprise. "You like Legolas? Why?"  
  
"Not like. Love. Or have you forgotten that Elven love is pure and instant?"  
  
"That I will never forget, my dear sister. I have a reminder of it every day. I hope you know that he will never love you back." She paused. "And even if he did, he's getting married in a year. Surely you can't expect to tell him and get him to love you in only a year!"  
  
"A lot can happen in a year. Things change. Emotions crumble. Sometimes walls you're worked on building all your life come crumbling down in an instant."  
  
"Valar knows mine did." Elenna whispered. "Do you honestly think he left me? Do you think he's dead? Do you think he's forgotten me?"  
  
"No one could ever forget you, even if they tried. I don't know what to think. But I do know that if he doesn't come back soon, you are going to die." Maqueden sighed. "It's been a long day. I think the day has finally come when I'm going to bed earlier than you."  
  
Maqueden stood, stretched, and was walking through the door when Elenna called, "What about the dishes? They don't do themselves, you know!"  
  
"I know. My poor fingers are already pruned enough." Holding up her hands, Maqueden laughed. A small chuckle escaped Elenna's lips- the first in over 900 years.  
  
"All rightey then. Go to sleep, I'm coming as soon as I finish my dinner. You're still not off of Kitchen Duty!" She called after her twin's retreating back.  
  
Now it was Elenna's turn to think. If what was happening to her was going to happen to Maqueden, she had to be careful. She had learned to deal with the pain over the years, but to Maqueden, this was new. She had to stay alive... For herself and for Maqueden. And if living meant forgetting an elf who had long forgotten her, then so be it. They were in this together, and together they would fall.  
  
A/N: Thank you to all three reviewers! From now on, the new chapters should be posted every Saturday or Sunday, depending on which week it is. And thank you to Dreamgirl Fifi for offering to help me with names! I need it!  
  
Adios!  
  
Lilyana Turner 


	3. OUCH!

A/N: Sorry about the wait! I had a severe case of writer's block, and then I got confused and thought that this chapter was the next chapter, so... yeah. I DON'T OWN LOTR!!!  
  
And now for the story that you have all been so patiently waiting for.  
  
When Legolas awoke the next morning, it was to a loud bang on his window. Yawning, he got out of bed and opened the window to tell whoever was throwing rocks to go away... And was hit with a rock on the forehead. Elenna stood under a tree, laughing at Maqueden, who was holding a rock and looking quite embarrassed. Neither had to work, considering the pleasant fact that they both had the day off.  
  
"Sorry!" Maqueden called up to him. "You should move faster!"  
  
"You shouldn't throw rocks at royalty!" Legolas called back. "I'll be down in a few minutes. Give me a minute to wake up!" He ducked, narrowly missing another pebble that Maqueden threw at him.  
  
Closing his window, the prince quickly dressed and walked down the hall. He stopped at Kyriana's door and peered inside, surprised that she was up this early. She was sitting on the window seat, wrapped in a blanket and sipping a steaming mug of tea. Her blond hair blew in the warm May air, little wisps of it going everywhere.  
  
Legolas coughed to let her know he was there. Startled, she turned to face him, setting the mug down on the floor and smiling at him. After knowing him for a month or so, she had learned to trust him... Somewhat.  
  
"We- Maqueden and Elenna and I- are doing something outdoorsy. Want to come?" Legolas asked, fearing that any attempt to get Kyriana outside would prove to be fruitless, considering the fact that she had a fear of... well, just about everything.  
  
"Sure." She answered quietly. Shedding her blanket and closing the door, she turned to lock it.  
  
Legolas blinked in surprise. Her answer was not the one he expected. When he noticed her turning the key and pocketing it, he hurriedly said, "You don't have to do that." Putting a hand on her shoulder, he continued. "Thefts are nonexistent."  
  
"It's my father." She answered, slowly. Did she trust him with this information? Mentally smacking herself in the face, she thought, of course I do! He is one of the few people on this planet who cares about me! Taking a deep breath of the sweet-smelling air, she continued. "If I don't lock my door, he goes into my room and... well, let's just say that he's not the most respective person in all of Middle-Earth."  
  
Legolas nodded. There was silence for a few minutes as they walked down the hall, before he asked, "Do you like horses?"  
  
"Not particularly." She answered, the change of subject startling her.  
  
Legolas grimaced. "We're probably going to have to ride to get where we're going. That is, unless you want to spend a good portion of your day walking to and from the river."  
  
"I don't have to swim, do I?" She asked, her fear of drowning taking hold of her.  
  
"No. We can't even get to the river, much less swim in it." They were outside now, and in a few strides were under the tree with Elenna and Maqueden.  
  
After meeting Elenna, Kyriana looked confused. "There's two of you?" She asked, looking from Maqueden to Elenna and back again.  
  
"She's my twin." Maqueden and Elenna said in unison. The four laughed.  
  
Legolas started off toward the stables. "Ada took all the horses but two, so we're going to have to double up. Any preferences?"  
  
"Do we have to ride?" Kyriana asked, backing slowly away from the horses.  
  
"No. You can spend an hour walking." Maqueden said. She led Starwind from her stall and put on her saddle and bridle. "Horses aren't mean or scary. They're only scary when they know you're afraid of them. You just have to show them who's boss."  
  
"Right." Legolas led Shadowmoon from his stall. "Come here. He's gentle, he won't hurt you."  
  
"No." Kyriana whimpered, backing further away. "I really don't like horses."  
  
"But you've ridden before..." Legolas said, fishing a sugar cube out of his pocket and giving it to Shadowmoon.  
  
"I was forced to." She said. Shadowmoon looked at Kyriana and started towards her.  
  
"Do you trust me?" Legolas asked, leading Shadowmoon closer to Kyriana. The frightened girl backed into the corner with a squeak.  
  
"Yes. But I don't trust him." She gestured at Shadowmoon.  
  
"If I told you that he would never hurt you, would you believe me?"  
  
"No... You don't know he wouldn't hurt me..."  
  
"He would never hurt you, I swear it."  
  
"I don't..." Shadowmoon took two steps forward and bent his head so that he could see Kyriana. She backed further into her corner. Shadowmoon nuzzled her palm looking for a sugar cube. Kyriana let out a frightened squeak and retreated into the shadows. Shadowmoon followed her.  
  
"Legolas..." she whimpered, raising her hand to ward off the horse. In doing so she touched his nose. Now all out scared, she drew back, afraid that her hand was about to be bitten off. But Legolas was right, Shadowmoon was gentle. He nuzzled her palm again, and this time Legolas placed a sugar cube in it.  
  
"Give this to him. He won't bite you, I swear it." Legolas said, stepping away from Kyriana. She quickly held the sugar cube in her palm, and just as quickly, Shadowmoon took it.  
  
"Are we going?" Maqueden asked quietly, not wanting to interrupt the moment, yet doing so.  
  
"Yes, we are going." Legolas answered. "Who wants to ride with who?"  
  
"Starwind doesn't like me." Elenna said. "I'll ride with Kyriana."  
  
Maqueden smiled. Legolas mounted Starwind first, then extended a hand to help her up. She sat behind him, her hands resting on his shoulders for fear she would fall off. This was the first time she had ridden with Legolas, and she was already enjoying it.  
  
"So... Where to?" Legolas asked, turning Starwind to face Shadowmoon.  
  
"I dunno. You're the boss. You pick." Elenna said, shifting so that Kyriana had a better grip on her shoulders and looking at Legolas.  
  
"All right then, follow me." Legolas galloped off, Maqueden clinging to him. Kyriana and Elenna followed at a slower pace.  
  
After riding for about half an hour, Legolas stopped, having lost Kyriana and Elenna somewhere along the way. At first Maqueden couldn't see what lay in front of her. After he dismounted, however, she had a clear view of the beauty that surrounded her.  
  
"How come I never knew this was here?" She asked quietly in elvish, surveying the scene that lay before her. It looked exactly like it had fallen out of a fairy-tale. She stood on a rock cliff. Below her was a waterfall, and below that was a river. The banks of a river were surrounded by flowers and trees. A fine mist hung in the air. Deer jumped away from them, startled by the intruders. The only word plausible to describe it was... /"Amazing."/ She breathed, in elvish. "How did you find this?"  
  
"By accident." Legolas said, softly. "My tutor makes me study old maps. Something good finally came out of it." He sighed, then continued. "It reminds me so much of my mother. She... She used to paint scenes like this one all the time." Gazing at the river far below him with unshed tears in his eyes, he continued. "I found a trail that leads to the river. I've already cleared away most of the sticks and vines, but I could use some help with the finishing touches. My brothers won't help me, and you can only imagine what would happen if I asked my sister."  
  
"All right all ready!" Maqueden cried, letting out an exasperated sigh. "I can take a hint! When do you want me to start?"  
  
"Tomorrow. I take it you don't have to work, seeing as it is the weekend?"  
  
"I don't. Elenna does." Maqueden said. The two settled back to watch the waterfall and the birds. After about a minute or so, Shadowmoon came into the clearing.  
  
"What was that for? You know I don't know my way through the forest!" Elenna complained, dismounting her horse and helping Kyriana down. "How were we supposed to- oh... wow..." She trailed off, walking to the edge of the cliff and looked down the waterfall and the river. Kyriana smiled, but stayed a good distance from the edge.  
  
The four spent most of the day at the waterfall, talking about random things like life. All but Maqueden carefully avoided the subject of love. When Legolas noticed the hurt in Elenna's eyes, he said, "I knew Astoldominien. I do not honestly believe that he is dead."  
  
"Then you believe he has condemned me to a loveless life? Did he not know that I loved him more than life itself?" Elenna asked spitefully, holding in her tears.  
  
"Oh, he knew. I have no doubt about that." Legolas answered just as quickly, holding in tears of his own.  
  
"Then what do you think happened to him?" Elenna seethed, turning away from her friends and facing the dark of the forest.  
  
"I don't know." Legolas said, softly.  
  
A single ray of sunlight broke through the trees. Kyriana smiled, feeling its warmth. This was the first time since her mother's death that she has come outside of her own free will, and she was starting to like it.  
  
The four continued to talk until sunset, when Legolas announced that it was time to go back. Maqueden and Kyriana groaned, not wanting to go back for separate reasons. Elenna happily obliged, ready to get away from the ghost of a memory of Astoldominien. As the four rode slowly back home, Elenna gazed up at the stars. How long? She thought, a single tear leaving a translucent streak on her cheek. How long until you come back to me? How long are you going to make me wait? Am I going to die because you've forgotten me?  
  
A/N: Sorry to leave it there, but my tiny brain couldn't write any more this week. I've started on chapter 4. And yes, I am alive. I was sick last week when I should have posted this and I couldn't get on the computer, then I had, like, 5 tests, then I was babysitting, so... yeah. Sorry for making you wait so long! 


	4. Fallen from a fairytale

I DO NOT OWN LOTR!!!!! *sob* WHY MUST YOU CONTINUE TO DOUBT ME????  
  
Maqueden woke with a start. The sun was just beginning to rise, casting an orangish/pinkish glow about the room. A few birds twittered outside. Sighing, she rolled out of bed and pulled on a pair of breeches and a loose shirt, pulled her hair back into a braid, laced up her brown leather boots, and scribbled a note for Elenna explaining where she was going and when she would be back. Grabbing a roll and her knife on her way out the door, she ate her breakfast happily as she walked through the woods. It took her about an hour to get to the palace, and by that time, the sun was already up and high in the sky. Legolas was waiting on her when she walked to the stables, leaning on the door.  
  
"I was beginning to wonder if you'd forgotten to come."  
  
"How could I forget?" Maqueden asked, blushing as his gaze caught hers. Turning away and faking a sneeze to cover it up, she turned back to Legolas. "I take it we're walking?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Great!" Maqueden cried in false desperation. "I've already walked my poor feet to death, and the sun's just barely up!"  
  
"What? Are you up to it, or am I going to need to carry you?"  
  
"Legolas!" Maqueden moaned. "You only had to carry me once, and that was because I was sick!"  
  
"I was sick too!" The blond elven prince protested,  
  
"Yeah, but you sat outside with wet hair of your own free will. You know I can never refuse a dare!"  
  
Legolas laughed. Maqueden smiled with him, before setting off at a run. Legolas looked up to see her disappearing into a cluster of trees. "Hey!" He yelled, sprinting after her. "Wait for me!" When he caught up with her five minutes later, she was leaning against a tree with a grin on her face. "No fair!" He panted. "You had a head start!"  
  
"And I'm not even winded." Maqueden laughed, smacking him playfully on the arm. "When will you ever learn that I always win?"  
  
"Not at archery, you don't." Legolas panted, clutching his side.  
  
"Only because you practice. I can't even hold a bow right, much less shoot it." Maqueden smiled.  
  
"Then you should learn." Legolas said matter-of-factly.  
  
Maqueden stuck her tongue out at him playfully, then started down the trail.  
  
"I should warn you." Legolas called from behind her. "There's a couple of places where you have to climb down rocks."  
  
"It's nothing I can't handle." Maqueden said. And so they walked, clearing away sticks and vines as they went. After a moment or two of silence, Maqueden casually brought up the subject of love. "Do you love Kyriana?"  
  
"As a wife? No, or at least not yet. But yes, as a sister." Legolas said, knowing where this was going.  
  
"You need yourself a girl. Is there anyone you're interested in? I can also assume the role of matchmaker." Maqueden half hoped he would say he was interested in her. But nooooo, that would be too easy.  
  
Legolas laughed. "If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times. I am not looking to get married yet. When -if- I do get married, it will be to a woman of my choice. There is no need for you to assume the role of matchmaker. Which I doubt you could do without cracking up.  
  
Now it was Maqueden's turn to laugh. "I think you have feelings for someone." She said mater-of-factly as she scampered over some rocks. "And yes, I could do it. Have you forgotten who it was who got Elenna and Astoldominien together?"  
  
"As if!" Legolas snorted in a very unprincely manner. "I told you, I don't like anyone."  
  
"Yet." Maqueden added.  
  
Legolas rolled his eyes and pushed away a particularly large branch. "Or ever."  
  
"Oh, come on! There are plenty of girls out there who would give an arm to talk to you! You really should get out more."  
  
"I'm outside with you or Elenna all the time!" Legolas cried, moving aside so that Maqueden could cut some ivy out of the way. Legolas scampered down some rocks, then helped her down.  
  
"That's not what I meant. When was the last time you went to the marketplace?" She asked, sheathing her knife and moving on.  
  
"Erm..." Legolas said, trying to remember that far back. "I think it was the day I met you."  
  
"And that was over 2,000 years ago. Hence my point." Maqueden laughed in remembrance.  
  
"Maqueden!" Legolas cried, heaving a false sigh of despair. "I'm not going back there! Just think who I could get myself stuck with this time?"  
  
"Oh, thanks!" Maqueden answered sarcastically. "It's not like I asked to be stuck with you for all eternity either!"  
  
Their story was common knowledge around the kingdom. Legolas had been running an errand for his nursemaid when he got lost in the marketplace. He then ran into Maqueden (literally) who helped him get out of the marketplace in time to make it home. The next day he ran into her again (literally) while at target practice. They had been friends ever since.  
  
"That's the other side of my point." Maqueden said, clearing away some dead sticks and throwing them into the woods. "You need to learn your way around the kingdom, for the Valar's sake! You're going to rule it someday!"  
  
"First my brother has to sail to the west. Then I have to be married." Legolas shot back, nearly tripping over a protruding tree root.  
  
"Then for Valar's sake, do so!"  
  
"I DON'T WANT TO!" Legolas cried, pausing in front of a curtain of ivy. He pulled out a map and opened it, then looked at the ivy. "According to the map, the end of the trail should end right... here." He pushed the ivy away and stood, frozen in his tracks. Maqueden stepped up beside him, caught in wonder at the beauty.  
  
The two stood in a meadow. The grass danced in the wind, and a light mist hung around the waterfall. Maqueden smiled at Legolas and took off for the waterfall, halfway there before he realized she had gone. For the second time that day he was left chasing her, reaching the waterfall right after she did. Maqueden had already kicked off her boots and was ready to dive in before Legolas had time to stop her. Shielding his face with his hands, he managed to keep it dry.  
  
That was about all of him what was dry. Maqueden had once beaten Legolas and most of his friends in one of those biggest splash contests. King Thranduil, who was sitting what he considered a "safe distance" away, was soaked. Even Glorfindel, who was there with a message from Elrond and who was standing about 5 yards behind Thranduil, was wet.  
  
Maqueden grinned at Legolas from the water, then splashed some water at him. Legolas laughed and dove in after her, barely making a ripple on the surface of the water.  
  
"Race you to the waterfall!" Maqueden called, propelling herself towards it. Legolas swam after her, touching the rock just before she did. Maqueden pulled herself out of the water, her waist-length hair dripping. She had lost her hair tie somewhere on the trail and her braid had come undone. She wrung the water out of her dripping hair, then clambered up the rocks until she found one sturdy enough to sit on. Legolas joined her, sitting near her and wringing water out of his hair.  
  
For a minute or two there was silence as Maqueden and Legolas gazed out over the valley. "This reminds me so much of Rohan." Legolas murmured, allowing his thoughts to drift away to the hobbits...to Aragorn... To Eowyn...  
  
"You never have told me much of your travels." Maqueden's voice jerked him out of his peaceful silence.  
  
"They take a long time to tell. I do not have the time." He turned his gaze away and Maqueden knew she had hit a sore spot. Truthfully, he didn't like to talk about Haldir. The elf had been one of his good friends... Why does it seem that everything or everyone I love has left me? Astoldominien... Naneth... Haldir... Even my father is rarely here when I need him the most.  
  
"I do." She whispered, putting a warm hand on his cheek and turning his face toward her. "Tell me."  
  
Legolas cast his gaze down to the suddenly interesting rocks beneath his feet. "You know the story." He answered finally, avoiding her gaze. "You've heard it from Aragorn countless times."  
  
"I know. It's always better to hear it from your point of view, though. You make it so... interesting." She finished weakly. "Maybe some other time?"  
  
"Maybe." Legolas answered her question without much valor.  
  
There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment.  
  
The sun started sinking and the two wearily made their way back to the palace. Maqueden was still wet and had to wait at the door for Legolas to bring her a towel. When he did come back, two of the palace's healers were with him.  
  
"I tell you, she's not sick! It's the middle of MAY, for Valar's sake! It's only a little water!" Legolas was saying as he tried to wave the healers away. They could not be swayed, however, and followed him until he tossed the towels to Maqueden. She caught them with a thankful smile on her face, waving the healers away.  
  
"I'm fine, thanks." She said, her voice muffled by the towel that she was using to dry her hair. She flipped her head back upright and watched as the healers disappeared down the hall.  
  
"It still needs some work, no?" Legolas asked.  
  
"Hmm? Oh, the trail. It could use it, yes." She answered, taking a comb from Legolas. She tried combing the tangles from her still damp hair and growling in defeat. For every tangle she managed to get rid of, two more appeared. "Why Elenna insists I keep it so long is beyond me. She knows I hate it long."  
  
"I like it." Legolas murmured. Taking the comb from her, he gently untangled her hair, braided it, and tied her ribbon around it. Maqueden sat, a smile frozen on her face.  
  
"Well... Ada's going to kill me if I'm late to dinner again. I've gotta run." Legolas said, starting for the door. Maqueden nodded and walked for the door, stopping when Legolas touched her shoulder. "Maqueden... I'll see you tomorrow, right?"  
  
"I've got to work all week." She said glumly. "I'd rather not, but it's a living. I'm still coming every night, it's a tradition! Breaking it would give me 700 years of bad luck! Did you really think you could get rid of me that easily?"  
  
"I'll see you tomorrow." Legolas called as Maqueden walked out of the palace and headed down the steps.  
  
Once she was out of the palace she turned, looking up at Legolas's window. There was a faint light flickering in his window and he waved to her as she walked down the path. She waved back, trying desperately to hide the love in her eyes. He'd noticed more than one thing from that distance before, and she didn't want it to happen again.  
  
She walked slowly through the woods, hand on the handle of her knife. Spiders were no longer a rarity. As she neared her house, Elenna came outside, holding a pot of something hot. "Where have you been all day?"  
  
"It took me longer than I thought to get home. I left a note!" Maqueden cried, when Elenna gave her a skeptical glance.  
  
"Well, I didn't see it."  
  
"That's your problem, not mine." Maqueden playfully stuck her tongue out at her sister. "Besides, I'm older. I've got the rule of the roost for now."  
  
Elenna glared. "You had to bring that up, didn't you?"  
  
"Yep." Maqueden yawned, realizing just how hungry she was. "What's for dinner?"  
  
"Soup. Get the bowls, will you?" Elenna asked, getting two spoons from the drawer and laying them out on the table. Maqueden poured the soup into the bowls.  
  
After she thought it was cooled off, she took a rather large spoonful of her soup. "OW!" She cried after she swallowed. "It's hot!"  
  
"Yes, it's hot." Elenna said calmly, taking a small bite of her soup. "That's why you blow on it first."  
  
Maqueden laughed. "So..... Any trouble with Elian yet?'  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Did you do anything today?"  
  
"I worked."  
  
"That's interesting. What did you do at work?"  
  
"I cleaned."  
  
"Elenna! Gaaa, I feel like mother!"  
  
Elenna laughed. "No. Nothing interesting happened today, but Kaylie came in looking for you."  
  
"I... I wasn't supposed to work today, was I?"  
  
"No, she said you had a load of laundry there that needed to be picked up."  
  
Maqueden hit herself on the head. "I knew there was something I was forgetting... Oh well, I have to work tomorrow anyway, I'll get it then."  
  
Elenna grinned. The two ate the rest of their dinner in silence.  
  
Maqueden finished her dinner first and started on the dishes. Elenna slipped away to bed. After Maqueden put the last plate on it's stack, she closed the cupboard door and went into her room. This time, however, she grabbed a blanket and her pillow and walked outside. There she lay, watching the stars until the sun rose.  
  
A/N: Sorry, this chapter wasn't that great... I was just trying to get Legolas and Maqueden to clear the trail before they take Kyriana swimming, which she has a fear of... DARN! You aren't supposed to know what happens next! FORGET I SAID THAT! ERASE IT FROM YOUR MEMORY! I COMMAND YOU! 


	5. Teaching me to trust part 1

1 week later...  
  
Kyriana left the dining room quickly, hoping to avoid her father. As the weeks had gone by she had learned to trust Legolas and Maqueden, more than she trusted her own father. She only trusted them because they showed her love, something no one had done since her mother died. As she neared her room she heard the familiar click of her father's heels on the marble floor and scurried quickly into the flickering shadows cast by the torches. She watched as he passed and hoped that he didn't sense her presence. After he turned and went down another hall, Kyriana heaved a sigh of relief and moved back into the flickering torchlight.  
  
Someone laid a hand on her shoulder and she turned quickly, only to see Legolas.  
  
"Why do you hide from your father so?" He asked curiously, feeling that this was something he should not have asked.  
  
"I wasn't hiding from my father." Kyriana lied smoothly, as she continued the walk down the hall to her room. "There was something on the wall and I wondered what it was."  
  
"It's a painting my sister made." Legolas said slowly. Kyriana didn't know about his sister yet- she was the one unfriendly member of his family.  
  
"I never knew you had a sister!" Kyriana mused, as they neared her room. "Why doesn't she ever eat dinner with the rest of your family?"  
  
"She keeps to herself most of the time. She hasn't been the same since my mother died. None of us have." Legolas pulled her door open just as Kyriana's father came around the corner. The two collided and made a loud thud as the latter collapsed in a heap on the floor. Legolas stood there, hand on the doorknob, with a horrified expression on his face. Kyriana stifled a giggle as her father slowly got to his feet, impatiently swatting Legolas's help away.  
  
"Kyriana, may I speak to you for a moment?" He asked once he was on his feet.  
  
"I was about to turn in for the night. Can it wait?"  
  
Her father opened his mouth to argue. Instead, images of what Legolas could do to him if he was seen striking his daughter filled his head, and he closed his mouth. Oh, what could be in store for him... There were the dungeons, for starters. And after Kyriana was the queen, she could do whatever she pleased to him. And Legolas... He almost shuddered thinking about what the blonde elf could do to him... And Legolas was only the prince! The king was worse! Instead of saying anything, he nodded his head and turned on his heel, walking quickly down the hall and away from Legolas.  
  
After the halls were silent from the reverberations of the heels of his boots, Legolas and Kyriana burst out laughing. Legolas walked into her room and leaned against the wall, silent for a moment. Then, he spoke.  
  
"I was going to go camping with Maqueden tomorrow. She'd love it if you came. Want to?"  
  
Kyriana frowned. "Aren't there spiders out there? Or orcs?"  
  
"There aren't that many spiders out there anymore. As for orcs... You can usually tell when they're coming. If you don't want to come, it's fine." He said, cutting off her attempt to speak. "But Maqueden and I will be armed, if it's any consolation."  
  
"It is." Kyriana turned her gaze to the window. "I'll come."  
  
"Are you afraid of your father?" Legolas asked suddenly, hoping to catch her off-guard and get the truth out of her.  
  
"No." Kyriana lied. "I mean yes, he does frighten me a bit, but so do all men. It's not because he hurts me, if that's what you're getting at."  
  
"It's not. Sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned it." Legolas turned to leave.  
  
"Legolas?" Kyriana called as he left the room.  
  
"Hmmm?" He turned back to face her.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
He smiled and walked out of the room.  
  
***************The next day*************  
  
Friday dawned crisp and clear. Maqueden took off from work early, packed a change of clothes and a few things to eat in a knapsack, tied her hair back, and brought a knife. As she walked through the woods on the path (well worn by she and Elenna) she listened to the birds singing in the trees. When she neared the castle, she heard Legolas and Kyriana talking. Silently she crept up behind Legolas, motioning for Kyriana to be quiet. Then, she pounced. What she didn't expect was for Legolas to move away at the last second. Worse than that, she landed in a heap on the ground.  
  
Legolas and Kyriana laughed as Maqueden hurriedly pushed herself up off the ground.  
  
"Good try." Legolas held out a hand to help her up. "Next time, don't be so loud on your last step. That's what gave you away."  
  
Maqueden huffed and rolled her eyes. "So, are we going or aren't we?" Noticing that neither Legolas or Kyriana had the tent with them, she asked, "Who has the tent?"  
  
"It's not supposed to rain tonight... Astoldominien and Allyiah went of somewhere for their anniversary and took the tent we normally use. The others are too small for all three of us, and I'm taking it you don't want to sleep alone..." Legolas sighed.  
  
"Even for an elf, nights in the open can be spooky." Maqueden muttered under her breath, although she knew Legolas could hear her.  
  
"It doesn't bother me."  
  
"Only because you spent a year sleeping outside because there was nowhere to sleep." Maqueden reminded him. "Are we walking?"  
  
"No. We're flying on a giant banana." Legolas answered, setting off in the direction Maqueden had just arrived from.  
  
"Legolas!" She cried. "Why didn't you tell me we were going this way? Then you could have stopped by my house and picked me up and I wouldn't have had to walk all the way here, then back again!"  
  
"Because we're only following this trail for part of the way." Legolas paused. Looking around, he started off again on another trail. "See?" He asked as Kyriana struggled to keep up with him.  
  
"How often do you do this?" She puffed as she nearly ran to keep up with the two elves.  
  
"About once a month, but it's been three months since our last night out here. You know, with all this stuff about..." He paused, still not comfortable with the fact that in 9 months he was to marry a girl he hardly knew and leave the world he was accustomed to behind... forever. "Anyway, it's this way."  
  
As the trio marched through the forest, Kyriana found herself watching the way Maqueden looked at Legolas. The girl was obviously head over heels for him. He was clueless. Kyriana sighed, thinking of the day when she would finally find her true love. Of course, with her upcoming marriage to Legolas, this wasn't very likely...  
  
As the sun reached it's peak in the sky, Legolas took the girls away from the camp and toward a stream that lay nearby. Kyriana refused to go anywhere near the water. Maqueden, on the other hand, jumped right in. Her splash soaked Kyriana, who looked confused for a moment before she realized what had hit her. Legolas had had time to run for cover and he did so. As she surfaced and called out, "Come on in!" He took his head off of the ground and cautiously made his way to her.  
  
Kyriana edged closer to the water. Maqueden looked up at her and asked, "Why are you afraid of it?"  
  
"Because I can't swim and I'll die because I'll drown!"  
  
"If we taught you to swim..."  
  
"Nah-uh." She put her feet in the water slowly, half expecting it to be icy cold.  
  
"Oh, come on now! The water's warm... It's spring... The birds are singing..."  
  
"I can hear just fine, thank you." Kyriana sighed.  
  
"Please?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Please?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Please?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Goose!"  
  
"No... wait a minute... what?" Kyriana laughed as Maqueden flapped around in the water, imitating a goose.  
  
"Please?"  
  
"If I drown... Or catch pneumonia..."  
  
"I'm not gonna let you drown." Legolas took her hand and led her into the water. Kyriana shivered. The last time she had been in a lake or a stream was with her mother, when she wasn't afraid of everything.  
  
Something shifted under her feet and she screamed and shot off towards the banks of the river. Legolas gave Maqueden an annoyed glance and swam after her, catching her and pulling her back in as she struggled to get out.  
  
"There's nothing in this river that can hurt you." He said gently, swimming for the middle of the river. Maqueden soon joined him.  
  
"Trust us. I'm out here every day to do laundry and get water. There's nothing that can hurt you, or it would have done so by now."  
  
"Oh thanks! That helps a lot..." Kyriana muttered, once again trying to break away from Legolas's iron grip and make it to the river bank.  
  
"You said you wanted to learn to swim. I'm only trying to teach you." Legolas said. "In order to swim, you must first..."  
  
*********3 hours later************  
  
As the sun slowly started to sink, they started back to the camp. Legolas built a fire, then lay on his back and watched the stars as they blanketed the night sky. Maqueden shivered in the wind, and reached for her cloak before she found herself covered in Legolas's. Grinning, she settled back onto the ground. As she yawned, she looked over at Kyriana. The girl sighed as she gazed at the stars.  
  
As the night wore on, a comfortable silence befell the trio. Kyriana was the first to drift off, feeling protected by the fact that Legolas and Maqueden were both armed. That left them to talk quietly for a while.  
  
"Something's bothering her." Legolas pointed out.  
  
"I am aware of that. I just don't know what." Maqueden murmured.  
  
"I think it's her father." Legolas sighed. "She hides from him every chance she gets, yet she won't tell me why."  
  
"Maybe she doesn't want you to know yet." She stated, as though it would be blatantly obvious.  
  
"Why?" Legolas asked questioningly.  
  
"Because she doesn't feel comfortable around you." Maqueden sighed. Really, did she have to explain everything to him?  
  
"Why?" He asked again, shifting so that he was sitting across from her.  
  
"Because she just met you, for the Valar's sake! She doesn't want you to know because she's withdrawn, like your sister. When was the last time your sister ever told you something she wouldn't want anyone else to know?" Maqueden cried, remembering that Legolas was touchy when it came to mentioning his sister.  
  
"Never." Legolas muttered.  
  
"See?" Maqueden asked gently, falling back onto the soft earth and covering herself with her blanket. "That's how Kyriana feels."  
  
Legolas sighed. "I know... It's just so frustrating sometimes!"  
  
"Get used to it."  
  
There was another silence. Then, Maqueden spoke. "Legolas?"  
  
"Hmmm?"  
  
"Goodnight."  
  
"G'night."  
  
She drifted away in to blessed sleep. Legolas stayed awake for a while longer, watching the fire and occasionally putting more sticks on. After a few hours of his "alone time" he, too drifted off... To a world of no forced marriages.  
  
A/N: Sorry... It's not as long as I thought it would be... But I'll make up for it with some...  
  
Thank you's!!!!!!!!!!  
  
moonbunny77- elves have really good eyesight, right? After she left, Legolas was watching her. She was trying to mask her feelings for him but obviously wasn't doing so well. She really doesn't want him to know how she feels about him because that would be confusing for her, Legolas, Kyriana, and Elenna. Did I do a good job explaining?  
  
Arwen's-Fate- Thank you! I'll try to be more faithful about updating...  
  
Lady Deidra- Thanks for not flaming me! I hope u like the ending!  
  
Cherry Fairy- thanks! Ah, this is only the beginning of poor Kyriana's troubles... Her dad only gets worse from here.  
  
Nilimade- thanks for complementing me!  
  
Merenwen/Shili-Dwelf of Lorien- *thinks to self* Interesting name... I'll update roughly once a week. It may be more or less...  
  
Silcawen Uvanimor-dreamgirlfifi- Thanks for reviewing me! I will end up asking you for translations later on in this story! 


	6. Save me

A/N: Here ya go! Next chapter! Enjoy! I DO NOT OWN LOTR!!!! *Thinks to self* WHY MUST YOU CONTINUE TO DOUBT ME?????  
  
Maqueden was the first one up the next morning. Silently she crept away from their small encampment to the stream where she jumped in and started washing her hair. About five minutes later Kyriana joined her. The girl sat on the edge of the water but did not get in. Maqueden realized she was there but paid her no attention as she continued bathing.  
  
Kyriana spoke suddenly, breaking the silence that had settled upon them. "Do you love him?"  
  
Maqueden sighed. She knew this question was bound to be asked, but in all her 1500 years of hiding emotions she had never really stopped to think about how she would answer when it was asked. "Who?" She dunked her head under water, stalling for time. When she came back up, Kyriana stopped her from going under again.  
  
"You know who."  
  
"No, I don't like Thranduil, if that's what you're asking." Maqueden disappeared under the water again, grinning.  
  
As she came back up she heard Kyriana laughing. After recovering from her fit of giggles, she managed to say, "Fine, I wasn't talking about Thranduil. I was talking about Legolas."  
  
"What was the question again?" Maqueden walked toward the banks of the river.  
  
Kyriana sighed, a small smile gracing her features. "So you're afraid to admit it. Why?"  
  
"Afraid to admit what?" Maqueden wrung the water out of her hair and hastily brushed it.  
  
"That you love Legolas."  
  
"I'm not sure I even know what love is." Maqueden braided her hair and stooped to pick up her dry clothes. They were no longer where she had put them, however. Looking up, she saw Kyriana dangle the garments teasingly.  
  
Maqueden sighed. "Can I please have my clothes back?" As she reached up to snatch her clothes away, a loud splash and a lot of water coming from nowhere attracted her attention. Turning her head, she saw Legolas grinning childishly at her from the water. She abandoned her futile attempts to get her now soaking clothes from a sopping wet Kyriana and walked to join him instead. Hiding the blush that threatened to give her away completely, she dove in after him. As she surfaced, a horrifying thought crossed her mind. What if he had heard her talking to Kyriana? What if he had heard her as good as tell Kyriana that she loved him? What then? Legolas, however, was either without this knowledge or hiding it very well.  
  
As Kyriana watched them from a perch in a tree, Legolas pushed Maqueden under the water. Horrified, Kyriana waited for half a minute before Maqueden came back up, spluttering. Relief flooded her. That is, until Legolas disappeared under the water. It took him a whole minute to come up, though when he did he pushed Maqueden under. Or rather, tried to. Kyriana giggled as he struggled to push her under, then laughed harder as Maqueden gave him a sympathetic glance and toppled over backwards.  
  
Kyriana hung Maqueden's clothes over one of the lower branches of the tree and went to referee their fight. In the end Legolas won, dunking Maqueden three times in a row. As the rules stated, the loser had to submit to one last dunking by the winner. Legolas pushed Maqueden under the water and held her there for a minute and a half before he let her come back up. Thankfully, her need to breathe had not kicked in yet.  
  
Kyriana adorned Legolas with a crown of daisies and gave Maqueden a bouquet of some purple weed. Maqueden laughed as she held her prize and watched Legolas take a bow.  
  
Legolas and Maqueden headed back to camp to dry off. Kyriana, however, stayed behind, lost in thought. Legolas didn't push the subject.  
  
As Maqueden emerged from the forest in her dry clothes, she fished a comb from her bag. She wrung the excess water from her hair and began to braid it. Legolas stopped her. "Let me." He asked quietly, his hand resting on the top of her head. Maqueden consented, sitting straight until he finished the braid. This one was simpler than some of the others he had done, though it was still not an ordinary braid.  
  
Maqueden started cooking lunch. "If Kyriana's not back in half an hour, will you go get her?" She asked, poking at something in a pot on the fire. Legolas nodded.  
  
The two didn't have to wait for long. Kyriana came running into the camp about fifteen seconds later, screaming at the top of her lungs. "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!" She yelled, cowering in a tree.  
  
Legolas looked quizzically at her before looking at Maqueden, who was trying to say something but failing to do so. "Sp... sp... SPIDER!" The terrified elf finally managed to scream. Legolas whirled around. There, at the edge of the camp, was a rather large, rather menacing spider. Maqueden froze. Legolas groaned inwardly. The spider couldn't have picked a worse time to come. Maqueden was afraid of spiders - that was common knowledge. Apparently, so was Kyriana.  
  
He slowly picked up his bow and reached for an arrow. Finding one, he took aim and shot. The arrow flew true to it's mark. It didn't kill the spider, though. The enraged arachnid hissed (just go with me, ok?) and shot off towards Maqueden, who let out a frightened squeak and backed away from the spider. Her squeak turned into a scream when she backed into a tree and was cornered by the spider. Legolas loosed another arrow and watched it strike the spider in the back. Confused at what was hitting it, the spider turned again, this time heading for Kyriana. Legolas let another arrow fly. This one struck the spider between the eyes. It was dead before it hit the floor.  
  
"You told me you would both be armed!" Kyriana cried.  
  
"I am armed." Maqueden said shakily. "I'm just a smidgen afraid of spiders. Ugh!" She shuddered. The smell of something burning reached her nose and she took off at a run for the pot, which was now smoking.  
  
She emptied the pot of it's contents and coughed as she inhaled smoke. The burning smell began to subside. "Well... that's it for lunch." She said, motioning to the charred remnants of what had promised to be a good lunch. "Unless, that is, you want to eat the spider." Kyriana and Legolas grimaced.  
  
As the sun began to set the trio headed back to the castle. Maqueden had to work on Sunday to make up for the Friday she missed. Kyriana had to get back before she was missed. Legolas, not wanting to be left behind, followed eagerly.  
  
*******LATER (Maqueden's POV)****************  
  
Maqueden walked silently into the house. The sun had started to set, casting a reddish glow about the small kitchen. Elenna was out in the garden, weeding away. Maqueden silently set about cleaning the kitchen, her hands working quickly as she washed and dried the dishes. She started a fire in the stove and went to fetch the bucket to get water. Elenna looked up from her work and smiled, then dusted her hands and went inside to clean up for dinner. When Maqueden came back from the river, Elenna had sliced the vegetables for the soup.  
  
After the soup was on the stove, Elenna sighed and fell back onto the couch, almost asleep. Maqueden frowned- someone was working her sister too hard. Maqueden was fiercely protective of Elenna, and vice versa. After both having been nearly killed by orcs the day Elenna met Astoldominien, they watched each other's backs.  
  
Maqueden didn't have to force-feed Elenna that night. In fact, it was Elenna who had to force-feed Maqueden. The girl was refusing to eat! Elenna almost gave up on her.  
  
"Why don't you tell him?" Elenna suggested, forcing another spoonful of soup into Maqueden's mouth as she opened it to talk.  
  
"Hmmm... What should I say? Legolas, I love you! I'll sound like a moron!" Maqueden sighed hopelessly. "Besides, the wedding's in, like, 9 months. I won't have time to tell him!"  
  
"You won't sound like a moron." Elenna said gently. "And it doesn't take nine months to tell someone you love them!"  
  
"I will too sound like a moron."  
  
"Will not."  
  
"Will too!"  
  
"Trust me. He'll love it." Elenna scraped the last few drops of soup from the bottom of the bowl. "I'll do the dishes tonight." She murmured. Maqueden nodded her thanks and stood to leave.  
  
"If I told him, it would confuse him even more than he already is. He's worried about Kyriana. I don't want him worried about me. Or you." She walked silently away, falling asleep the instant her head hit the pillow.  
  
***************ARRIVING AT THE CASTLE************  
  
Kyriana slipped inside her room and collapsed on her bed, exhausted. She was still damp from swimming in the river and her clothes wet the sheets, but she was too tired to care. Until, that is, her father came into the room, his face red and fury evident in his eyes.  
  
"Where have you been?" He thundered, towering menacingly above her. Kyriana shrank back, deciding now was not a good time to be rebellious. "I was looking for you everywhere last night!"  
  
"I-" She tried to explain.  
  
"You could have been killed, you could have been raped..." He screamed, his eye popping.  
  
Kyriana laughed, the hollow laugh of someone who has lost all they care for and some they don't. "I don't want to do this!" She cried. "I never have! All my life I've been your puppet. I've done as you asked and watched as you took away the only person who ever loved me. I'm leaving." She moved to collect her coat and boots, but winced at a sharp pain in her side. Her father sat down on the bed, rubbing his toe from where it had connected with her ribcage.  
  
"I've cared for you. Watched you grow. And this is how you repay me? I was to make you a princess!" He spat. Kicking her in the shins, he pain no attention when he saw her flinch. He kicked her again, this time harder. She fell, shielding her face with her hands. Over and over he kicked her, until she was barely able to stand. "Get up." He spat.  
  
Whimpering, she did as she was told. Her father slapped her across the face. Once, twice, thrice. Kyriana lost count as tears welled up behind her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She would not let her enemy profit from her pain. This time he threw a punch at her and she cried out as his fist connected with her nose. She opened her mouth to scream for help and tasted the coppery taste of blood. The pain in her head and nose told her that it was broken and was now bleeding freely. Before she could move, his fist connected with her eye. Kyriana was beyond tears as she stood and took the pain father gave her. One last punch in the stomach, and he stood back, watching his daughter sob.  
  
"If you tell anyone about this, I swear I'll kill both you and them." He spat. He turned to leave, leaving his daughter bruised and beaten, but not broken.  
  
How long she cried after that, she did not know. She'd been beaten several times in the past, but none as badly as this. She remembered one thing clearly from that night- finding her way to Legolas in the wee hours of the morning and knocking softly on his door. She had done nothing to stem the flow of her blood or hide her many bruises as she would have normally done. She no longer cared.  
  
Legolas opened the door sleepily, his hair down and out of the usual braids that framed his face. He was dressed in a loose shirt and a pair of pajama pants. He took one look at her and asked, quietly but sternly, "Who did this to you?"  
  
"M-my f-f-father!" She sobbed, falling to her knees on the floor. "I s- shouldn't have c-come... He s-swore he'd k-kill both y-you and m-m-me if I t- told anyone..." Legolas wrapped his arms firmly around her waist and pulled her into a standing position.  
  
"Come here." He pulled her inside. Hastily he lit a candle and rummaged around in his desk. Finally he produced a large wad of gauze and a bottle of alcohol. "I'm not as graceful as some would think." He murmured as she gave him a confused look. Kyriana laughed through her tears and let him put the alcohol on her many cuts. He gave her some gauze and instructed her to hold it under her nose and tilt her head back.  
  
"I'm sorry if I hurt you, you can yell at me if you want to." He whispered as he checked her for any head wounds.  
  
"I wouldn't yell at you if I had to. You're my friend." She pointed out, wiping away a few tears and blowing a piece of the gauze out of her mouth.  
  
"I would put a balm on your bruises but..." He looked a bit uncomfortable. Most of the bruises were on her midriff, somewhere Legolas hoped he would never have to see. Besides, they were only promised. Not married. Which meant that even if he was doctoring her, it was still improper. "The healers are away with Allyiah and Novancaion, and... I can find Maqueden, if you need me to. She is more skilled in this than I."  
  
Kyriana nodded. She was so tired, she slipped away into sleep as Legolas rushed out the door.  
  
As Legolas ran through the forest, he kept wondering what Maqueden would think of him when he yelled for her to come in the middle of the night, dressed in his pajamas. "Why do I care?" He wondered aloud as he jumped over a fallen log and ran past a cluster of trees. "Because perhaps you love her, maybe?" A small voice in the back of his head questioned. "Nah- uh." He answered the voice sternly. And on he ran, through the forest, until he reached Maqueden's door. One light was still on, though it was Elenna's. Maqueden was apparently already asleep.  
  
Legolas knocked loudly on the door. Elenna answered it, a bit surprised at seeing Legolas... In the middle of the night... And in his pajamas, at that. Then, realizing that only something serious could get the prince of Mirkwood out of his bed and at her house in the middle of the night, she heeded his instructions and went to wake Maqueden, who was in the room quickly, dressed in a long nightshirt that went to her knees. Blushing as she met Legolas's gaze, she listened to his hurried explanation and went to throw on a pair of trousers, not even bothering with her hair save to tie it back in a low ponytail. She ran barefoot through the forest behind Legolas.  
  
When she skidded to a halt in front of Legolas's door ten minutes later, she told him to stay outside until she told him otherwise. At first Legolas argued, then remembered that the whole reason he had gone to get Maqueden in the first place was so she could doctor the bruises that he could not.  
  
Maqueden closed the door quietly. She woke Kyriana and began doctoring the many bruises that covered her body. One ankle was twisted from her flight down the hall, her nose was broken, and a rib or two was cracked. Maqueden put balm on all the bruises and did the best she could for the ankle. Slowly, she wrapped the swollen foot tightly in cloth and set about doctoring the ribs. Her nose had stopped bleeding, though she now had two black eyes. Finally, Maqueden let her pull on a clean nightshift and let her sleep.  
  
As she walked back out into the hall, she stopped at what she saw. Legolas was hunched over, shoulders shaking. This was the first time she had seen the prince of Mirkwood cry. She softly padded over to him, wrapped an arm around his shoulders, and asked, "What's wrong?"  
  
"I could have saved her!" He cried, turning away. "But she wouldn't tell me... She wouldn't tell me who was hurting her so badly. I knew there was a reason she didn't trust men..." Legolas wiped a tear away.  
  
"Talk to her. Then talk to your father, if she agrees. I'm sure that between the three of you, you can find a fitting punishment."  
  
"She's just so afraid that he'll kill her... or us..." Legolas murmured. He turned away from Maqueden so she could not see his unshed tears.  
  
"Then she stays with Elenna and I until this is over. Then she can come back here." Maqueden whispered. "If her father doesn't know where she is, he can't come to get her, can he?"  
  
"No..." Legolas whispered. "It's a good plan...I'm just afraid she will not give her consent."  
  
"After what happened tonight, I do not think she will ever trust again." Maqueden muttered under her breath, knowing full well that Legolas could hear her.  
  
As the night wore on, the two friends sat together, waiting for the sun to come up so they could talk to Thranduil. Kyriana's consent or no, this was something they were going to talk to him about. Period.  
  
A/N: No one reviewed for this chapter! *sob* You shall now suffer... DEATH BY PEANUT!!! *throws peanuts at reviewers* Muahahahahahahahaha *cough cough* Muahahahahaha hahahahah hahah hahaha haha hahahaha haha. Ha. *uses breath spray, takes big gulp of air* Muahahahaha hahahahahahaha hahahahahahahaha hahahahaha *coughs up a cat* *thinks to self* FIFI!!! *hugs cat*  
  
Anyway, I'm not posting next week, it's spring break. For me, at least. I get to see my cousin! Yay! Anyway, it will be the week after next that things start to get interesting... And next chapter 7 involves invisible spiders! And PAIN! Although I think you've already gotten your dosage of pain this time... *Throws one last peanut at some random person* Anyhoo, namaarie! 


	7. Escape from death

Near dawn of the next day, Legolas and Maqueden walked silently into Kyriana's room, not wanting to wake her. The problem was, she was already awake. Legolas looked warily at Maqueden, who nodded.  
  
"Yes?" Kyriana asked, wincing as she spoke. The pain in her ribs worsened, but she ignored it. These two friends, who she would trust with her life, were going to get her out of this predicament. Somehow.  
  
"I have a... a proposition." Legolas spoke, as though he were unsure of his confidence, unsure of his words. "Something to keep you safe and away from your father until we are... wed." He spoke the word neither with distaste nor with great like.  
  
Kyriana merely nodded. Words were too much effort to bother with.  
  
"I will speak to my father of this... but I need your consent to do so." Legolas said slowly, allowing her time to protest at the end of his sentence. Kyriana nodded again and motioned him to continue. "We would work out an agreement. Send your father away somewhere. Until he leaves, you will stay with Maqueden and Elenna."  
  
"Where would you send him?" Kyriana asked suddenly, her voice scratchy and dry from disuse.  
  
"Away from here. Far enough away that if he decided to come back we would have enough time to get you safely away. Probably to Gondor, where Aragorn can watch him."  
  
"You will not harm him." Kyriana said, her tone firmer than usual.  
  
"Certainly not. But he did hurt you in more ways than one, you know." Legolas reminded her, sitting down on the edge of her bed. Maqueden seated herself in the window seat.  
  
"I know. You will not harm him."  
  
Legolas nodded. A thick silence settled over the room, and for a while the three were content to sit on company of one another and listen to the silence. The sun crept steadily higher over the trees, until it hung high in the sky.  
  
Legolas finally stood. "Will you come?"  
  
"I'll come." Kyriana sighed. "Ada will have my head for this, you know."  
  
"You'll be perfectly safe until we are wed." He spoke the word freely now, though it was still not with the greatest of like.  
  
"Trust me." Maqueden spoke quietly, one eye on the window, the other on the door. "Elenna and I can keep you safe."  
  
"What do you plan to do with my father?" Kyriana asked.  
  
"Send him somewhere. He will not be harmed, I assure you."  
  
Kyriana smiled and swung her legs over the side of the bed. As she moved towards the door, Legolas noticed a limp in her walk.  
  
"You did not tell me she was injured." He muttered quietly as they walked out the door.  
  
"I took it to mind that you already knew." Maqueden murmured back, watching as Kyriana paused at the end of the hallway.  
  
Legolas smiled and started for the door. Kyriana followed him. Maqueden did not.  
  
"I can't go in front of your father in this." She said, motioning to her strange garb.  
  
"He won't care."  
  
Maqueden stood from her perch on the window seat. As she walked out into the hall, she received many strange looks from the palace staff, though no one said anything. As they neared Thranduil's office, both Legolas and Maqueden could feel the fear radiating from Kyriana. When Legolas knocked softly on the door and pushed it open, Maqueden laid a reassuring hand on Kyriana's shoulder.  
  
The trio shuffled their way into Thranduil's office. Legolas flopped down on a chair. Kyriana sat rigidly upright, a faraway look in her eyes. Maqueden remained standing. As Thranduil looked up from his papers, he caught sighe of Kyriana's bruises and cuts. The first words out of his mouth were, "What happened to you?"  
  
Kyriana sighed. "My father." She choked, tears in her eyes.  
  
"Your father?" Thranduil gaped, setting down his pen, which had remained poised over the papers laying on his desk. "Why would your father do this to you?"  
  
"He has done this to me since I was very small. He takes his anger out on me."  
  
"We had an... agreement. But you must help us if it is to be put into action." Legolas spoke slowly. "You would send her father... away. I have promised that no harm will befall him while he is gone. Until he leaves, Kyriana will stay with Maqueden and Elenna." The king gave him a quizzical look. "For safety." He added quickly.  
  
"And where would you have me send him?"  
  
"Gondor, if at all possible." As he paused, he caught the puzzled glance the king sent his way. Sighing, he explained. "Aragorn and Arwen can keep an eye on him."  
  
"I see." Thranduil sighed. "All right. Call him in. Out, all of you. And Legolas?"  
  
The youngest prince turned to face his father. "Yes, Ada?" (father)  
  
"This doesn't mean that the wedding is off." Thranduil said, his voice deadly serious, though a small smile graced his features.  
  
"I know." With a grin, Legolas turned and walked away.  
  
****************  
  
Alaklain was summoned to Thranduil's office just after lunch. He walked down the hall wondering what on middle-earth the king would want with him, pushed open the door, walked inside, and sat down on one of the chairs beside the window.  
  
King Thranduil looked over his papers at Alaklain. "I have a proposition for you." He said quietly. His icy blue eyes had a strange glare to them.  
  
"Yes, Highness?" Alaklain asked as politely as he could. All traces of his former rudeness were gone.  
  
The king sighed and tried to act as though this was real. "We are having trouble with spiders along our borders. I would like to send you with a few of my men to evaluate this problem. It shouldn't take you more than a few months. Oh, have no fear. You will be perfectly safe, I promise you. No harm shall befall you whilst you are in company of my troops. And yes, you will be back in time for your daughter's wedding." The king said, answering Alaklain's unasked question.  
  
"I will go if your highness wills it of me." Alaklain said, standing.  
  
"You are dismissed, then." Thranduil said, waving him out of the door. After he heard the footsteps fading away, he called, "You can come in now!"  
  
Legolas, Maqueden, Elenna, and Kyriana all filed silently into the room. "I thought you said you would send him to Gondor!" Kyriana said, though her eyes were filled with laughter as she thought of her father off hunting invisible spiders. Truth was, Thranduil was sending him into the forest with a few of his retired men, who would lead him on a wild orc chase for a few months. When he came back, Kyriana would be princess of Mirkwood and could do whatever she pleased to him. There was silence for a moment, before Kyriana asked, "How long until they leave?"  
  
"Two weeks." Thranduil said, standing and walking to his window. "Kyriana, I advise you. Stay inside. Don't come here, Legolas will come to you. And if anyone strange or suspicious comes knocking on your door, don't answer it."  
  
Kyriana grinned. Thranduil was treating her like his daughter, and she liked it. It had been a couple hundred years since she had felt that she was cared for by anyone, and it was sometimes overwhelming. She nodded and walked out of the room, closely followed by Legolas the twins.  
  
"I'll warn you now, this is spring cleaning week. Which means that a lot of dust on shelves will be coming off." Elenna said gently, though her eyes held laughter. "So... pack lots of loose shirts and pants, if you have any."  
  
Maqueden emerged from the bathroom, now clad in a dress. "Elenna, you know how much I hate these things!" She moaned, tripping over the skirt.  
  
"Get used to it. You're a lady, you should wear dresses, not those awful trousers..."  
  
"Tough."  
  
"You shouldn't hate them." Legolas said quietly. "You look great in them."  
  
Maqueden blushed, trying to hide it by turning abruptly to face Elenna. Her twin stifled a giggle at Maqueden's cherry-red face. Legolas spotted her ears turning red and laughed.  
  
"Can't handle a compliment?" He asked, grinning. "Elbereth, he is beautiful when he does that." Maqueden thought, smiling at him in return.  
  
"Well... we should go. Sure you can handle coming to find us in the dark all by yourself?" Maqueden asked. "If not, I can send someone to find you...I'm sure-"  
  
Legolas silenced her with a glare. "I can find my way on my own perfectly well, thank you. I'll see you tonight." Ignoring the fluttering in his stomach as he watched Maqueden disappear behind the door, he thought, "WHY DO I FEEL THIS WAY?! She's my best friend!!"  
  
To Maqueden, this feeling was nothing new. She'd felt this way every time she saw him for almost a thousand years. And this was no different. But... something about the way he spoke to her with that last "see-you-later" Made her think that maybe... maybe he was returning her feelings.  
  
********************  
  
Three days into her stay with Maqueden and Elenna, Kyriana was getting used to the twin's eccentric style of living. Maqueden cooked and did the dishes. Elenna cleaned. And worked in the flower garden.  
  
"I'm going outside! Anyone want to come?" Elenna asked. Kyriana followed her outside to where her small garden lay, not a weed in sight.  
  
"How do you keep it so clean? I could never keep the weeds out of my garden." Kyriana asked, watching as Elenna gently placed a seed in the soil and covered it.  
  
"It's a memory garden." Elenna murmured, reaching for another seed.  
  
"Oh." Kyriana was silent for a moment. Then, "What's a memory garden?"  
  
"This particular one is in memory of my... of Astoldominien."  
  
"You've mentioned him before, but I don't know who he is." Kyriana said quietly, afraid she was hurting Elenna with these questions.  
  
"He was -is- the elf I am engaged to. But a thousand years ago he... well, some say he died. But I know he's still out there somewhere. I would have felt him die... Our love was that strong."  
  
"Then why don't you go find him?" Kyriana asked, leaning against the wall for the shade.  
  
"My sister needs me." Elenna answered dryly. If Kyriana knew the real reason she was afraid to find him...  
  
The two stayed quiet for a while, as Elenna worked on the garden and Kyriana slipped away into her own little world.  
  
"Elenna?" Maqueden hollered, breaking the silence.  
  
"What?" Came the answer.  
  
"Where are you?" Maqueden yelled, drying her hands on a towel and rolling her sleeves up as she walked outside, carrying a bucket of dirty water.  
  
"Outside!" Elenna yelled back, looking up from the flower garden  
  
Maqueden opened the door and stepped outside into the cool May air, lugging the bucket of water. Her hair fell into her face as she stumbled to the fence to dump the water out. SPLASH! The sound was not that of water hitting the ground.  
  
"AAAAAAH!" Someone yelled. Elenna laughed from across the yard. Maqueden sat the bucket upside down on the ground and brushed her hair from her face, then looked up to see a sopping wet Legolas.  
  
"Oops." She laughed as Legolas wrung the water from his hair. "Sorry. I couldn't see you."  
  
Legolas laughed with the twins and Kyriana as he headed inside. "It's all right." He chuckled, kicking off his sodden boots at the door and stepping inside the house. "I needed that. I wasn't fully awake yet."  
  
"Well, too bad for you." Maqueden tossed him a towel. "So... need anything? Food? Clothes? A place to stay?"  
  
"Nope. I was bored and somehow managed to get out of my lessons today..." He shuddered. "Valar knows how much I hate them."  
  
"Why?" Kyriana asked. "The only thing I know how to do is cook, clean and sew. And how to pull weeds." She added hastily, catching Elenna's eye and laughing.  
  
"Ah. Good then. You can go in my place. I bet he'd hardly notice."  
  
The twins laughed. Kyriana looked happy but said nothing.  
  
"So... what do you want to do, now that your... Now that we have time?" Legolas asked, carefully avoiding using the word 'father'.  
  
"I don't know." Kyriana answered, her gaze going to the window.  
  
"Have you two started planning your wedding yet?" Maqueden asked, grinning. Legolas turned his head so fast at the word 'wedding' that he got a crick in his neck.  
  
Rubbing it, he sighed. "No, we haven't." Shooting her a please-don't- mention-that-again sort of look, he hastily changed the subject. "What'd you go dumping a whole bucket of water on me for, then?" He asked, as he brushed a few strands of wet hair off of his face.  
  
Maqueden looked appalled. "I didn't mean to... Honestly, I couldn't see you..."  
  
Legolas laughed. "It's fine. Forget it."  
  
"So... Now that we're here... what are we going to do?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"There's always the river... we can go swimming." Elenna pointed out. "Although Legolas looks like he's had enough of the water for one day."  
  
"Nah." The blond prince shook his head, sending droplets of water everywhere. The girls shrieked and covered their faces with their hands.  
  
"So let's go!"  
  
Maqueden and Legolas raced each other, as usual. Kyriana and Elenna strayed behind, both content to walk in silence. When they reached their usual swimming hole, Maqueden and Legolas were nowhere to be seen. Figuring one had chased the other into the forest or something, they both shed their shoes and shawls and walked to the waters edge to step in. At that precise moment, two shapes came hurtling out of nowhere. One tackled Elenna, the other tackled Kyriana. Elenna laughed when she saw that she was pinned to the ground by her sister. Kyriana smiled weakly and struggled out from under Legolas, stood, and walked to the edge of the river. She stuck her toes in but did not actually get into the water, preferring to sit and watch as the other three got into a dunking war.  
  
This time it was Elenna who won, and the other two submitted to their mandatory dunking. The three headed back , sodden and chill. On the way, the stopped to watch the sunset. Legolas went his own way, again ignoring the fluttering in his stomach as he remembered how close to Maqueden and he had been all day. Mentally smacking himself, he reminded himself that now was not the time to find himself crushing on the girl who had offered to find him his perfect match.  
  
A/N: THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING!!! I HAD A WONDERFUL SPRING BREAK!!!!!!! Yeeeehaa!!! *thinks to self* Southern thang... It's longer this time! Five pages size 10 font! Anyhoo, my cousin didn't have a lot of time to edit this, so if you find a ton of mistakes, ignore them.  
  
THANK-YOU'S  
  
cherryfaerie- yeah... sorry 'bout that. It was supposed to be Novancaion and Allyiah, but I was thinking about Elenna and Astoldominien, so I wrote Astoldominien instead of Novancaion. *throws one more peanut* haha, just kidding. You reviewed. I'm being nice.  
  
Arwen's-Fate - *hands over a peanut* Yes, Fifi is fine. I had an AWESOME spring break!!! Cousins RULE!!! Elspcially mine, cuz she's sorta editing this....  
  
Lady Pirates- well, if Thranduil didn't force Legolas to marry Kyriana, we wouldn't have a story, would we? Just go with me, okay?  
  
Yahoo-chocolate-bars- Chocolate rules!!! Thanks for reviewing!!! 


	8. Changes

A/N: Short chapter this time, guys! I didn't have a lot of time this week to write, so it's really short. And my editor was working all day Friday and Saturday and has family there on Sunday, so it may not be edited as well as the others... Oh well!  
  
Legolas sighed as he walked down the deserted halls of the castle. Kyriana was home, though she was already asleep. That left him waiting silently in his room for Maqueden to come... if she was even coming at all. She had been working overtime at the laundromat, which meant that she was often drained of energy. Several times in the past week she had fallen asleep while talking to Legolas, and he had had to wake her and walk her home.  
  
His thoughts turned to his feelings for Maqueden. He felt all fidgety and self-conscious around her. He knew it was love. He also knew that if he had any control over his hormones, he would have chosen Maqueden as the LAST person in the world to fall in love with. The only person he knew of that he could ask for help was his sister... And Valar only knew what would happen when he tried talking to her.  
  
His sister was the oddball of the family. For starters, she was a recluse. The only times she came out of her room were to eat and to speak to her father. She and Legolas had not spoken in several weeks. In fact, he was not even quite sure she was still alive. She might have died and no one would know it for days.  
  
There was a reason that the happy girl Artariel had once been had suddenly vanished from the household. The day after her mother died, her husband died and left her six months pregnant. She had also lost the child before it's second birthday. She had given up on love or luck and instead stayed inside all day, ignoring the rest of her family. The only reason she was still in Mirkwood was because she had nowhere else to go.  
  
Legolas's thoughts turned to reality. How was he going to get out of marrying Kyriana? Maqueden was the only person he knew who could possibly help him get out of it, only because she was considered Mirkwood's biggest troublemaker... next to himself, of course. If she couldn't get him out of it, no one could. He sighed and settled back on the pillows, resigning himself to wait for Maqueden.  
  
He didn't have to wait long. After only a few minutes, she came in through his door, quieter than usual. She silently sat on the end of his bed. She managed a weak smile and he gave one in return, but stayed silent.  
  
"Talkative tonight, aren't we?" Legolas asked, as he poked her gently on the shoulder. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing. I'm just... tired. I didn't sleep well last night. I was up late with Elenna."  
  
Legolas decided it safer not to ask what they were doing. He wasn't sure he wanted to know. Instead, he shifted his gaze to the window, avoiding looking at Maqueden. He didn't know how much longer he could stand the fluttering in his stomach. After a few minutes, Maqueden stood and walked to the window.  
  
"I've never noticed how beautiful the view from your window is." She murmured, sinking into the chair beside the window. Legolas just thought she was tired and decided to let her rest. Then he heard the unmistakable sound of a sob.  
  
"Maqueden?" He asked in alarm, laying a hand gently on her shoulder. She turned away.  
  
"Maqueden, please talk to me." Legolas whispered, tilting her chin up. She looked away before she was held powerless under his gaze.  
  
"It's... It's Elenna. She's dying."  
  
Legolas stayed silent for a minute. When he spoke, he said, "I knew it was bad. I didn't know it was this bad."  
  
"Legolas, we've got to find him. She's going to die if she never sees him again."  
  
"I know... I just don't know where to look."  
  
Maqueden sighed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "If we knew where he was... Would you come with us?"  
  
"Are you saying you know where he is?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Yes, I would come with you." *I would follow you to the ends of the earth... if only you knew.* He thought to himself.  
  
"Good." Maqueden sighed as she turned in her chair to face him. "I'm not going to lie... she doesn't have much time left. If we're going to find him... It's got to be soon."  
  
"I know. I promise I'm going to try to find him... I just don't know where to start."  
  
"Neither do I." Maqueden sighed as Legolas wrapped her in a friendly embrace. "Neither do I."  
  
**************************************************************************** *  
  
After Maqueden was gone, Legolas made his decision. He stood suddenly, his feet hitting the cool tile of his bedroom floor. He padded softly down the hall, making his way silently to Artariel's room. He slipped quietly inside, watching the sleeping form of his sister. He smiled- it was rare that she slept peacefully. He moved for the door and stepped into the hall, deciding his feelings concerning Maqueden could wait until tomorrow before they were deciphered.  
  
A/N: Sorry, guys... not as long as most... only 1and a half pages... Like I said, I was really busy... Oh, by the way, I need help with elvish translations. Of you want to help me, put your e-mail address in when you reply and I'll bug you until you tell me what I want to know. Haha, just kidding. 


	9. More Changes

A/N: Sorry about the short chapter last time, I'll try to make this one extra long. Since I posted it in the three minutes we had between church and my mom's side of the family doming for Easter, I didn't have time to put in the thank you's. But have no fear! They will be appearing in this chapter. Anyhoo... You're all probably mad at me for last chapter, so I won't keep you waiting.  
  
The next morning dawned bright and clear. Legolas spent most of the morning outside at the archery field, shooting at targets he could barely see. He poured all his anger, all his frustration, all his worry, into each arrow and just... let it go. It was a trick his mother had taught him long ago, before she died. No one bothered him- people could always tell when he wanted to be left alone.  
  
Around noon, Legolas walked back to the castle, his bow slung over his shoulder. After putting it away and eating a sandwich for lunch, he went to find his sister, ehich wasn't that hard because Artariel was always in her room.  
  
Artariel sat on a chair beside the window, though the windows were shut and the blinds were closed. Legolas sighed sadly and sat on the edge of her bed.  
  
"I... ah... um... I need help with something."  
  
Artariel raised her eyebrows and continued staring at the window. That was all the acknowledgement Legolas got. "I have a... a friend." He started, preferring not to let his sister know that he had finally fallen in love- and not with the girl he was destined to marry. "He's got this... other friend that's a girl that he's known for... a very long time. He has some feelings for this friend... and he doesn't know how to deal with them. What should he do?"  
  
"Tell her you love her, Legolas." Artariel said, in a quiet but extremely annoyed tone of voice.  
  
This response caught Legolas a bit off guard, though he responded quickly enough. "Oh, right. What am I supposed to say? 'I love you, Maqueden'? I'll sound like an idiot!"  
  
"You won't sound like an idiot! She'll love it!" Artariel exclaimed, turning in her chair. "How else do you think I got... I got him to marry me?"  
  
"I... uh..." Legolas muttered. "Right. Apart from telling her how I feel, what else can I do?"  
  
"Nothing." Artariel sighed. "Now, if you would be so kind as to leave, I would be very happy."  
  
Legolas sighed. "Fine." He turned and walked slowly away from his sister, and headed off for the archery fields again. Maybe shooting at something more... alive would kill some of his stress.  
  
(A/N: No, he does not kill anything alive. Maybe I should get his tutor out there... Hmmm...)  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Maqueden jogged up the front steps, avoiding being seen by any of the palace staff, who she knew would immediately alert Legolas to her presence. Talking to Legolas was something she didn't really want to do right now, since she came to avoid him. She slipped inside the huge front doors and walked quickly down the main hall until she came to Novancaion's room. She knocked softly on the door and entered when she heard him answer, "come in."  
  
Novancaion was sitting on his bed, cradling his sleeping infant son. When he looked up, his expression changed from one of annoyance to one of surprise. "Maqueden!" He exclaimed, looking around for Legolas. "Where's Legolas?" He paused, as though thinking. "He hasn't gone off and done something stupid and gotten himself hurt, has he?"  
  
"Oh, no... He actually doesn't even know I'm here..." Maqueden admitted with a sheepish grin, sitting down on the corner of Novancaion's bed. "I came to get advice. From someone... more experienced than I."  
  
"More experienced in what?" Novancaion asked, walking to his son's cradle and laying the infant in it. "I'm not a troublemaker, you know."  
  
"Well... um... see, it's like..." With an exasperated sigh, she launched into a detailed explanation. "I've liked Legolas for a bazillion years and I want to tell him but I don't want to worry him what with Elenna and Kyriana and the upcoming wedding and I don't know if I should tell him or not so I came to you for advice and please don't tell him that I like him, okay?"  
  
"Whoah." Novancaion shook his head. "Ok, first question. How long have you liked Legolas?"  
  
"For over a thousand years."  
  
"And you never told him."  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Right. Moving on... What would you be worrying him with?"  
  
"The fact that my existence is because of him and if he knows that I like him and he doesn't feel the same way I'll die of a broken heart. Then there's the fact that Elenna is dying because of Astoldominien, the fact that Kyriana recently escaped from her abusive father, the fact that there is an upcoming marriage to Kyriana that he isn't looking forward to, and the fact that he's probably really confused right about now."  
  
"So tell him how you feel."  
  
"What if he doesn't feel the same?"  
  
"Ah, well. Life goes on."  
  
Maqueden sighed. "I want to listen... but I'm so afraid of asking him, and even more afraid that he won't feel the same way."  
  
"Then you'll keep worrying about it until you die because you never asked him."  
  
"I... Fine." Maqueden muttered. Looking around the room, she noticed the absence of Allyiah. "Where's Allyiah?" She asked, standing and heading for the door.  
  
"She's with her sister in Gondor."  
  
"Oh." Maqueden paused. "Thanks for your advice." She left the room, her boots making a soft pat, pat on the floor. With nowhere else to go, she headed to the archery fields. The trees always gave her a sense of peace and comfort, and it was peace and comfort she needed right now. And peace and comfort was not something she was going to get from Legolas.  
  
She walked the well-worn path to the fields, her head in the clouds, and didn't come out of her daze until she felt herself collided with something big and solid. She was sent sprawling to the ground with an "oof!" and the object she ran into laughed.  
  
She opened her eyes to see Legolas standing over her. Grinning, he offered her his hand and she took it, savoring the feeling of their hands touching... She pulled herself out of her daze and mumbled, "sorry," with a sheepish grin on her face.  
  
Legolas laughed, albeit nervously. "It's fine." He paused. Did he really want to continue? Did he really want to know if Maqueden felt the same way about him? Yes, he did. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" There, it was done. It was irreversible. There was no possible way he could get himself out of asking her now. Was there?  
  
"Sure." Maqueden looked up at him, worry on her face. "Is it Kyriana? What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing's wrong. I just need to... erm... ask you something."  
  
Maqueden gave him an I-don't-think-you're-telling-the-truth look but followed him as he walked up the stairs. He opened the door and set his bow gently inside, then turned right back around and walked out the door. Once he was outside he sat down on the front steps. Maqueden sat beside him, thinking how strange he was behaving. In all their many thousands of years of being friends, she could remember once when they had sat outside and talked, and that was because Legolas dared her to sit outside in the middle of winter dressed in summer clothing and wait for three hours while she had wet hair. Legolas had followed (also with wet hair) and when the two went back inside they both had the worse colds in the history of Mirkwood.  
  
"So? You were going to ask me something?" Maqueden asked, leaning back and bracing herself with her hands.  
  
"I... Wow, look at the stars!" Legolas said, stalling for time.  
  
"Legolas... you're stalling."  
  
"So?"  
  
"Oh, come on. Am I really that hard to talk to? What were you going to ask me?"  
  
"I... uh... Is that Kyriana?" He asked suddenly, turning his attention to an invisible figure Maqueden assumed was sitting beside the lake.  
  
"Legolas... Just ask me and get it over with."  
  
"No!"  
  
"Stop being stubborn."  
  
"No!"  
  
"Oh, for Valar's sake... What were you going to ask me? And you'd better do it before I leave."  
  
Her warning caught him off guard. "I... well... this." Summoning up all his courage, he leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on Maqueden's lips.  
  
His kiss caught her off guard. Taken by surprise, Maqueden closed her eyes and leaned into the kiss before she realized what she was doing. It wasn't the fact that Legolas was kissing her that bothered her- that she could deal with. It was the fact that she enjoyed it that bothered her. He was supposed to love Kyriana... not her! She was supposed to keep this a secret! Why did everything have to go wrong now? Her eyes flew open and she hurriedly stood. Not even bothering with an explanation, she ran.  
  
Legolas watched as she ran, not daring to believe what he was seeing and plumb surprised at what he had just done. He didn't try to stop her as she fled- what could he expect? He had just KISSED her!!!!! "Of all the STUPID, STRANGE things I could have done, I picked that one." He thought glumly to himself. Sighing, he stood and walked inside to find his brother. Novancaion needed a break from his son, who hadn't slept a wink since his mother left. Besides, the chances that Legolas was going to sleep were slim to none.  
  
He trudged inside and flopped down on Novancaion's bed.  
  
"Hello to you too, elfling." Novancaion said, taking advantage of the rare silence. "What's up?" Noticing Legolas's dismal attitude, he added, "Or down?"  
  
"I just kissed Maqueden." Legolas mumbled.  
  
"What? I couldn't hear you."  
  
"I just kissed Maqueden." Legolas said, a bit louder.  
  
"WHAT?!" Novancaion yelled, covering his mouth. It did no good- the words were out. It seconds his son was awake and crying.  
  
"I was trying to tell her I liked her. I don't know what came over me... I just leaned in and kissed her. And then she ran."  
  
"Well, of course she ran. You probably scared her." Novancaion picked his son up out of the cradle and held him, trying to stop his crying.  
  
"I just..." Legolas sighed. "What do I do?"  
  
"I don't know." Novancaion said truthfully, rocking his son. "Artariel tells me you went to her for advice?"  
  
"I... Yes, I did. Why?"  
  
Novancaion laughed. "No reason." He paused. "You know, I always thought that you and Maqueden would make the cutest couple. Of course, you're less than a year from being married... It might not be the best idea to tell her how you feel right now..."  
  
"After I kissed her? I think it would be good to give her an explanation!" Legolas cried, taking his nephew and cradling him. "Why didn't Allyiah take you with her?"  
  
"Who? Me, or Aaron?"  
  
"Both."  
  
"She's visiting her newly wed sister in Gondor." Novancaion sighed. "Well, you don't look like you're going to sleep a wink tonight. Mind keeping him for me?"  
  
"Why not?" Legolas sighed. He walked to the door, keeping a firm grasp on the squirming Aaron. "When should I... When should I talk to her?"  
  
"Tomorrow, if at all possible." Novancaion blew out the candle and left the room in darkness. Legolas walked to his own room. As he opened the door Aaron stopped crying and instead stared confusedly at his own reflection in the window. Legolas grinned and sat down on his bed, wincing as Aaron grabbed a handful of his long, golden hair and gave it a sharp tug. Prying the infant's hands away from his hair, Legolas interested him in a game of peek-a-boo until the early hours of dawn, when the two finally fell asleep.  
  
***********************************************************  
  
(A/N: Now we're going back to Maqueden's POV, right after Legolas kissed her. Just so's you know.)  
  
As Maqueden fled blindly through the woods, her mind tried to process her thoughts. The one clear thing that was etched into her mind was the fact that LEGOLAS HAD JUST KISSED HER. Her, of all people! And now she was worrying him because she had run... When she decided she was far enough away from the castle to think, she slumped against a tree and sat in silence, trying to clear her head of everything but a sense of peace.  
  
Peace, however, would not come. Peace was long gone. Instead there was confusion, chaos, turmoil, and confused, chaotic turmoil. With a groan, she thought of Elenna and how she must feel- wanting something that was just out of her grasp. Or in her case, already gone.  
  
*************************************************************************  
  
Maqueden had no idea how long she spent in the woods. She dimly remembered walking home to meet a confused Elenna and collapsing on the couch, then telling everything to her sister.  
  
"He... he was stalling for time. And I kept pressing him to tell me. But he was afraid, or worried, or confused, or maybe all three. Anyway, he just... leaned in and kissed me. It wouldn't have bothered me half as much if I hadn't found myself enjoying it... But I did, and it scared me, so I ran."  
  
"And it took you that long to get home?"  
  
"Well... no, I stopped for a while to try and think..."  
  
"Right. Does he know you like him?"  
  
"I should think not, after I ran away from him today..."  
  
"TELL HIM!!!" Elenna cried. He likes you- isn't it obvious?!?!?! Everyone but Thranduil and Legolas can tell that you like him! So TELL HIM, for crying out loud!"  
  
"I can't... I'm afraid..."  
  
"Of what?"  
  
"I... Fear. I'm afraid for you and him. Elenna, you're dying! And he's worried about you on top of the fact that he's worried about his marriage to Kyriana, which is in less than 9 months. Then he's worried about me, because I ran away from him today. And I bet he's worried about Kyriana and the fact that she barely survived being beaten by her father. Need I say more?"  
  
Elenna grinned. "You need to start thinking of yourself more. Take care of yourself. Then take care of them."  
  
"And what is that supposed to mean?"  
  
"If you like him, let him know. I highly doubt that he can say he doesn't like you after the fact that he kissed you. Or I could ask him for you."  
  
"Thanks... no. I'll do it myself. Tomorrow. I need sleep now." Maqueden walked silently for her room,  
  
AN: Well, that's it for this chapter... It's a lot longer, 6 pages size 10 font. I'm going to need elvish translations for some stuff soon, so holler if you want to help. Sorry for the wait, I needed some time to clear my head and my editor has a high school crisis, so we're a little buried under all the stuff we have to do. From now until school starts next year, I may or may not post regularly, but I WILL NOT ABANDON THIS STORY! Oh, by the way, I've finally got it all planned out and it's going to be around 23 chapters with an epilogue. Well, that's all for now, I'm gonna go post soon...  
  
THANK YOU'S!!!!!!!!  
  
Lgstarbaby07- thank you!  
  
Dust In The Wind- thank you  
  
Merenwen/Shili-Dwelf of Lorien- yeah, he does have a lot on his plate... But wait! It gets better! Well... for the readerm anyway... not for any of the characters...  
  
I-Love-Legolas- thanks!  
  
Skatergirl- Thank you!  
  
Crazy-llama- Interesting name... Llamas rule! Anyhoo... There is now something resembling a plot!  
  
Cherryfaerie- Welllllllll... Elenna won't die, but I ain't telling whether they find Astoldominien (That name is murder to type...) or not...  
  
THANK YOU'S FOR CH. 7  
  
Skatergirl- thanks!  
  
Merenwen/Shili-Dwelf of Lorien- Yup. There is a lot of love there, but it's not... the other kind. Ya know, I kinda pity Kyriana after what's about to happen to her...  
  
I-Love-Legolas- I promise to update more often!!!  
  
Cherry-faerie- TEXAS RULES!!!!! Of course, I can't say, being an Alabamian... One of my best buds is from Texas... And I pity you... I eat at noon...  
  
Arien Kaleniel- I will try to update ASAP!!!  
  
THANK YOU ALL FOR REVIEWING!!! Your reviews are what keeps me going!  
  
Lilyana Turner 


	10. Kisses

A/N: Okies, I'm gonna write the next chappie and send it to my cousin,but she's going on a band trip on Thursday and won't be back 'till Sunday. Right, so it may be the Sunday after Next... *thinks to self* Only 2 1/2 weeks of school left!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Maqueden slept in the next day, waking up once early in the morning and hearing Elenna and some male talking quietly in her kitchen. Her exhausted mind did not comprehend who that male might be, however. Instead of realizing who he was, she rolled over with a groan and fell back asleep.  
  
The next time she woke, the voices would not let her go back to sleep. The sunlight streaming through her window forced her to roll over. By the time she got settled, she was already so wide-awake there was no point in even thinking about trying to fall back asleep. With a sigh, she rolled out of bed and pulled on a pair of pants, then ran her fingers through her tangled and disheveled hair.  
  
Maqueden opened her door, and the age-old hinges swung open with a loud creak. The voices stopped abruptly, leaving the house in silence save for the chirping of a lone bird outside. With a sigh, Maqueden walked slowly down the hall to the kitchen.  
  
As soon as she walked through the door, she turned right back around again, her face violently red. Elenna was in the kitchen with Legolas... Legolas... LEGOLAS?! Legolas, who had... kissed her, like some... idiot! She knew she would have to face him sooner or later, but why now?... Why now, when she had just woken up? Why not later, when other things had gone wrong?  
  
She fled to her room and heard Elenna open the front door and leave the house. "Great," She thought. "I'm alone... in my house... with Legolas. Beautiful." She collapsed on her bed and closed her eyes.  
  
Then she heard it- the telltale soft padding of feet across the cold stone floor. The footsteps came closer and closer, though they stopped when they were right outside her door. Maqueden did not open her eyes.  
  
"Maqueden?" She heard Legolas ask. She savored the sound of his voice- his kiss had left them on shaky ground. This might be the last time she ever talked to him.  
  
"What?" She asked. The word came out harsher than she planned. A single tear leaked out of the corner of her eye, and she silently cursed herself for crying.  
  
She heard Legolas falter and almost felt his reluctance to continue speaking. "Can... Can we talk? About yesterday?"  
  
"What is there to talk about?" She asked, her face turned to the wall. She really hoped her face didn't betray any emotions... and she hoped she wasn't blushing anymore. Two more tears fell.  
  
"I didn't... I didn't mean... I couldn't... I just..."  
  
Maqueden rolled over to face him. She didn't bother to wipe away her tears. "I understand." She said flatly.  
  
Legolas noticed the tears falling from her eyes. "What did I do?! I love her! Why should she care?!" He thought to himself. His subconscious mind answered. "Because she may not love you, you fool." Legolas marveled at the possibility. Deciding it was now or never, he shakily asked, "Y-you do?"  
  
"Sure. You were looking for a way out of everything. Guess you found it." She said blankly, her eyes unfocused.  
  
"No! No, it isn't like that! Maqueden... I..." He stuttered, trying to still his fluttering heart and speak straight... she just had that effect on her.  
  
"No, Legolas... I get it." Maqueden sighed and closed her eyes.  
  
"Maqueden..." Legolas was starting to get frustrated. "Do you really think I would have kissed you if I didn't REALLY like you? That was my way of telling you. I mean, I can't just say, 'Maqueden, I love you', now can I?" There was a pause in which they both marveled at what he had just said. After a few seconds, Legolas said, "PLEASE tell me I didn't just say that out loud."  
  
Maqueden sat up. Legolas walked very slowly toward her and sat down on the corner of her bed. She turned away, lost for words.  
  
"Please talk to me."  
  
"I can't."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"You don't understand!" Maqueden cried, carefully looking anywhere but at Legolas.  
  
"What don't I understand? Explain it to me." Legolas whispered, tilting her chin up.  
  
Maqueden looked away quickly away before she was held powerless under his gaze. "When I am around you... My mind is no longer my own." He locked eyes with her and she tried to look away again, but found it impossible to do so as she met his clear blue eyes. "You are the reason I live." She whispered.  
  
Too late she realized that he was leaning towards her, and she toward him. Legolas laid a cool hand on her cheek and their lips met in a gentle kiss. Maqueden pulled away first, though she allowed herself to remain wrapped in his comforting embrace.  
  
"We shouldn't do this. We can't. You're... engaged." Maqueden whispered, as she found herself drawn into his embrace and laid her head on his chest. "We should forget... forget this ever happened... and..." She trailed off in a whisper, all conscious thought lost as she met his crystal blue eyes.  
  
"Ssh." Legolas brushed his lips against hers and laid a finger against her lips. "I am bound to you. I will never love another." And in the instant's silence, he claimed her mouth with his own, kissing her with all the love he could muster.  
  
Maqueden stood stunned for a moment, then quickly pulled away, allowing herself to remain in his embrace. She found herself leaning on his chest for support- his kiss had left her knees shaking and they almost gave out under her weight. The thought of Kyriana tugged at her mind. "What are we going to do? Your father will kill us BOTH if he finds out." She whispered, too afraid to speak out lout- her words might shatter what was between them.  
  
"We hide it for as long as we have to. I love you, Maqueden... I always will."  
  
Legolas brushed his lips against hers, wiping away all her worry. Maqueden smiled, all thoughts gone from her head. She fell back on the bed, grinning like mad.  
  
Legolas spoke after a while. "Just a question... How long..."  
  
"I don't know. I lost count in the mid thousands."  
  
Legolas sighed and leaned his head back against the wall. "You must think me incredibly stupid for not noticing."  
  
"Never. It was not my intentions to tell you." Maqueden answered.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"I was... young. I guess I thought it better to hide it from you than to tell you. It would be my secret. I wouldn't have to worry about you finding out and not feeling the same or anything, because I'd never know. In fact, until yesterday I hadn't planned to tell you anything."  
  
Legolas smiled. "Look... about yesterday... I didn't mean any offense."  
  
"No offense taken. You just... surprised me, that's all. You never acted like you felt anything more than friendship toward me, then you go off and kiss me... It just... scared me a bit, to be truthful." She grinned.  
  
Legolas laughed. Maqueden smiled. Then, suddenly, their attitude turned serious. "What will your father say? Will he approve? I'm so worried..." Maqueden trailed off. "And Kyriana! You're supposed to love HER, not me. I mean, why me? I'm supposed to be your best friend... Not your lover."  
  
"You... you because you love me for who I am, not what I am. Everyone else likes me because I'm the price, or I'm gorgeous, or whatever, but you... You ignored that and saw to my soul. And I love you so much for who you are... I don't know. There's a million and one reasons. I can't possibly name them all."  
  
"Should... Should we keep this from Elenna, too?" Maqueden asked quietly, her head on his shoulder. Legolas was stunned. This was the first –and probably only- time that Maqueden had offered to keep something from her sister. Elenna didn't matter, though... If asked not to tell, she would die before she did so.  
  
"Nah. You can tell Elenna. Just... ask her not to tell anyone else... You never know how word could get to Kyriana... Or worse... Ada." (father)  
  
Maqueden smiled. "Well... What do you want to do with the rest of the day?"  
  
"Wellllll... Tomorrow's a Sunday and you don't have to work, correct?"  
  
"Mm hmm."  
  
"Kyriana is still not allowed to leave the house and Elenna doesn't like camping too terribly much. Sooooooo... I was thinking... We could go camping. One last time... before... Everything changes. Next month we start planning the wedding. I'm not going to have any time."  
  
"Legolas..." Maqueden said, about to make him swear not to try anything. But no, she thought, looking around the room for something to wear, he wouldn't do that anyway. He was a gentleman- he would wait. A grin made its appearance. "Let me get dressed and find something to eat. Then we can go."  
  
As Maqueden shooed Legolas out of the room, the thought of her sister popped into her head. What would she think of the match? Would she be depressed? Would something horrible happen? Wiping the worry away, she produced a pair of pants and a loose shirt. She pulled her hair back into a braid and stepped out of the room and into the kitchen, expecting to see Legolas but instead seeing only the kitchen as it had always been- empty. Deciding he must have gone to find Elenna, she found some Lembas and wrapped them in a piece of cloth and set it in her pack, along with a canteen of water and a bar of soap, a change of clothes, and a brush.  
  
Legolas appeared out of nowhere, a bit surprised to see her ready so quickly. With a grin he waited for her to finish her note to Elenna and followed her out of the house.  
  
Instead of going to their usual camping site, Legolas led her to the one they had discovered a few months before- the one that had fallen from a fairy tale. In the spring it looked even more beautiful with everything in bloom. With a grin, he started off down the path. He had kept it clean since they discovered it, though the curtain of ivy was still there. As he pushed it aside, several birds took flight, startled by the two elves' sudden appearance.  
  
Legolas set the tent up while Maqueden sat on the ground, her legs crossed. When he finished he sat beside her, his hand touching hers. She smiled. "I've dreamt of this day for as long as I could remember." She said quietly. Legolas smiled and took her hand.  
  
"I love you." He whispered. Maqueden smiled and turned her gaze from the ground to his face.  
  
"I love you too." She murmured.  
  
Legolas drew her into an embrace and held her, very aware of how she seemed to fit perfectly against him. He brushed his lips against hers and their foreheads touched, both holding desperately to a dream that they both knew could never true. Maqueden voiced this matter.  
  
"Legolas? What if... What if this doesn't work?"  
  
"We'll cross that bridge if we get there." Legolas answered, his eyes traveling up and down her face. Why had he never noticed how beautiful she was?  
  
"You never did tell me of the fellowship." Maqueden whispered. Seeing Legolas cringe, she added, "And you don't have to, I was just saying..."  
  
"No, it's all right. I'll tell you." And he did, talking late into the night until they both fell asleep. Locked in a lover's embrace. ____________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
Elenna grinned as she read the note Maqueden had left. Her sister was obviously very happy... Which made her pain even worse. In previous times, Maqueden had been there to share her pain. Now she was gone, chasing after Legolas and a dream that wouldn't come true. It would never work! There were less than 9 months until the wedding!  
  
Her thoughts turned to her own wedding. She and Astoldominien should have already been married with children. But... there was a slight problem. He was gone. To where, she did not know.  
  
She was to have wed Astoldominien a week after he disappeared. Instead, everything crumbled around her shoulders and left her shocked and alone, once again. With a sigh, she went outside to weed her garden. Maybe talking to someone would help... but it never did.  
  
A/N: Okies, shortER this time... Sorry... And thanks to ALL TWO REVIEWERS!!! *throws peanuts at everyone else*  
  
Well, lemme see... what's going on in the world of me... Right-o... this summer I WILL NOT UPDATE REGULARLY. I won't be home a lot. Neither will my editor. I'm spending most of my summer somewhere other than my home, so... yeah...  
  
Thankyou's!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
I –Love-Legolas- Thanks! The next is when things start to get interesting!!!!  
  
Cherryfaerie- more is coming!!!!!!!!  
  
Lgstarbaby- thanks!!! 


	11. Astoldominien?

A/N: Here it is! Now things are actually starting to have a plot! Wahoo!  
  
Legolas stepped quietly inside his room and noticed a letter was waiting for him on his bedside table. The handwriting was familiar and he recognized it as Aragorn's. With a grin, he tore the letter open. Two pieces of paper lay inside the envelope- one with his name on it, and one with Elenna's.  
  
Legolas opened his first. Aragorn droned on for four boring paragraphs about the weather in Gondor before he even started to sound like there would be something interesting in his letter. And, finally, near the end, there was.  
  
"My friend," The letter read, "Gandalf showed up in Gondor yesterday with a strange and very sick elf in tow. This elf cannot remember who he is or how Gandalf found him, but he looks just like the Astoldominien we used to know as children. I cannot stop myself from thinking that he is who we think. There is a letter addressed to Elenna, and I ask you to please give it to her from me. I knew they were to be wed." He then continued to talk about his children general life in Gondor. The closing paragraph stated, "If Elenna still wishes to meet with Astoldominien, you are all welcome to come to Gondor anytime. Especially that bride-to-be of yours."  
  
Legolas grinned, happily but worriedly. He picked up Elenna's copy of the letter and walked slowly out the door, his legs suddenly feeling like they were dead weight. Suddenly too tired from his hike back from the river to walk all the way to Elenna's house, he made his way to the stables and lead Shadowmoon from his stall. The horse looked up at Legolas with his big eyes, always so full of emotion, with an expression that said, "Let's go!"  
  
Legolas rode the mile or so to Maqueden's house and dismounted, tying Shadowmoon to a post in the front of her house. He then knocked on the door and listened to the sound of wood scraping against wood as Maqueden pushed back her chair to answer the door. Surprised at seeing him there, she let him in.  
  
"Elenna?" Legolas called, poking his head inside the door. "Aragorn sent you a letter! He thinks he's found Astoldominien."  
  
Elenna's head, which had been bent over some book she was reading, flew up so fast she got a crick in her neck. Rubbing the sore spot, she scooted her chair back and rushed to retrieve the letter that Legolas held out to her. After opening it and reading it at least 3 times, she grinned. "I'm going."  
  
"Whoah, wait a minute. You can't just go rushing off to Gondor all by your lonesome. I'm coming too." Maqueden said. "At least I know how to use a knife."  
  
"Not well enough to get you out of any orc attacks." Legolas chuckled. "I'm coming. Who knows what trouble you two could find yourselves in?" For a moment Maqueden thought he was being facetious, but she saw he was perfectly serious when he added, "The threat of orcs is still out there."  
  
"Oh? Is that all? Or do you just want to go because you are madly in love with Maqueden?" Elenna teased him. Legolas flushed bright red and Maqueden hit her sister over the head with her fist.  
  
"That was uncalled for." She muttered under her breath. "Oh, make sure Kyriana decides to come. She can't miss out on her opportunity to go to Gondor! I mean, we'll be, like, the only Elves there!"  
  
"Besides Arwen." Legolas grinned. "I'll ask Kyriana." After a pause, he added, "So when do we leave?"  
  
"Tomorrow, if at all possible."  
  
"Tomorrow it is. I'm going to go find Kyriana now, anyone want to come with me?"  
  
"Nah... I gotta pack." Elenna said.  
  
At the same time, Maqueden grinned. "I do!"  
  
"Be safe!" Elenna called as they left the house. Maqueden stuck out her tongue and Legolas laughed. After climbing up onto his horse, he extended a hand to Maqueden, who gratefully took it. She seated herself comfortably behind him and the two rode off.  
  
About a half-hour later, Legolas walked up the front steps and into the castle's entrance hall. Maqueden followed him and soon the two found themselves in Kyriana's bedroom. Kyriana was sprawled out on her bed, drawing a bird perched on the windowsill. She turned her head when she heard Legolas cross the room to sit on a corner of her bed.  
  
"Hmm?" She asked, picking up another pencil and continuing to draw.  
  
"Elenna... Elenna is in love."  
  
"I am aware of that. Your point is..."  
  
"Elenna loves this elf named Astoldominien who disappeared years and years ago and no one ever found him except now, my friend Aragorn thinks he knows where he is, and Maqueden and Elenna and I are going to Gondor to see if it's the right person and we wanted to know if you wanted to come."  
  
"Sure." She paused as she started on a wing. "Wait, I am allowed out of the house, right?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Good. I'll come. When do we leave?"  
  
"Tomorrow."  
  
"Tomorrow sounds good to me."  
  
Legolas grinned.  
  
Kyriana sighed as the bird on her windowsill took flight. "All rightey then. I'm going to go pack. Oh, by the way... is this "Aragorn" character a friend of yours?"  
  
"Hmm? Oh, right. Aragorn. He was one of the nine."  
  
Kyriana smiled. "Just wondering."  
  
Legolas walked quietly away, Maqueden following him.  
  
"Do you want me to walk you home?" He asked as his fingers intertwined with hers.  
  
"Sure." She answered, too preoccupied with the feeling of her hand wrapped protectively in his to think about anything else.  
  
Legolas smiled. The two walked silently down the steps, both thinking about the same thing- what if this elf that had shown up in Gondor wasn't Astoldominien? What would become of Elenna? She was barely dealing with the grief now! If someone restored her dream only to snatch it away again, she would most likely die of a broken heard before the night was over. But true love, Maqueden realized with a smile, is a strange and funny thing.  
  
Legolas was thinking about Gondor. It would be so nice to see Aragorn and Arwen again... It had been years since he had seen the two and from what Aragorn had told him, the couple now had children. Legolas was still trying to get out of the marriage of impending doom. If there was a way to get out of it, he had not yet discovered it. He had spent many sleepless nights thinking of ways to get his father to let him off the hook, the boldest of which involved him changing his name, moving to Rivendell, and cutting off most of his hair as well as wearing a dark brown hooded cloak every day for the rest of his life... or at least until Thranduil sailed for the Grey Havens- whichever came first.  
  
But now things were looking slightly up... sort of. Maqueden loved him, and he loved her. But if he was forced to marry Kyriana... The two of them wouldn't know what to do. Either way, true love would prevail. It always did in the stories Novancaion had told him. But real life is never like the movies. In the movies, life goes on. Legolas had found it hard to pick up his life again after Kyriana had come into it, and even harder now that he and Maqueden were an... "Item", as one might call it. But it was difficult in a good way, he decided.  
  
Suddenly he collided with something large and solid and fell with a thump. Looking up, he was surprised to see Maqueden's door looming over him like a rectangular shadow. Rubbing his nose and ignoring Maqueden's laughing, he pulled himself up in time to be standing when Elenna came to the door to see what had caused the loud bang. He bade Maqueden farewell and left, still rubbing his nose from where it had collided with the door.  
  
As soon as Maqueden closed the door, she collapsed on the couch. Too tired to move, she stayed there and eventually fell asleep. Elenna grinned and left her sister alone, then wandered into her room to pack.  
  
A/N: YES! THE AUTHOR IS ALIVE!!! I am soooooooooooo sorry it's taken me a year to update but I've been really busy and since I got caught writing in one of my classes I'm not allowed to bring my notebook to school anymore. But tomorrow's the last day, so YAY!!!!! 00;  
  
Right, thanks to everyone who reviewed! I haven't forgotten you!!!  
  
Marpessa- I'm sorry you feel that way. Everyone else likes it so it's going nowhere.  
  
Starlit Horses- Thank you! hugs Well, no, I haven't thought of being an author... But my cousin, and now co-author, has... And she's got, like, two planned and is working on a series. That's so cool!!!  
  
Alatariel Princess of Mirkwood- Thanks!  
  
Lgstar Baby- thanks!  
  
Lil Lego- Thanks! The character's name is Kyriana... And yeah, she sorta expected it, but not really. It's just one of those things she hasn't really given much thought to because she, like Legolas, is trying to get out of the marriage of impending doom.  
  
Aliana Archer- Thanks!  
  
Merenwen/ Shili Dwelf of Lorien- The lack of updates... DARN!!! But the chapters should be nice and long because I'll be stuck on a bus or a plane all summer with nothing to do but write!  
  
Oh right! Your next chapter should come this Sunday... If I survive band camp. Anyone else out there a bang geek? FLUTES RULE!!! 


	12. Astoldominien!

A/N: Ok I'm back with another chapter!!! And I kept you waiting a day over what I had planned... so sorry... sarcasm!!!! But my stupid internet wouldn't work and... then I went to the lake and... Yeah. So here's another chapter!!!!  
  
Elenna awoke early the next morning- so early the sun hadn't even risen yet. Realizing that she needed her sleep, she tried to fall back into the dream she had been having (which was about her and Astoldominien, by the way) but it didn't work. The birds were waking in the hour before dawn, chirping their songs and keeping her awake. With an annoyed sigh, she wrapped herself in her cloak and went outside, carrying a steaming mug of tea. (I know, I know... Elves don't drink tea... Do they? What do they drink? If anyone knows, tell me!) There, she allowed her anxiousness to take hold of her, tears streaming down her face. Normally, she wouldn't have cried. Astoldominien had told her to be strong... Not to greive if he died. To move on if she lost him. But they had been so close to marriage, she knew he hadn't meant it. And now that there was a chance that he was still alive... Her mind was awash with new feelings and fears. She had never shed a tear after he disappeared... only locked herself in her room and refused to speak to anyone, even Maqueden. But now... what if he truly was gone? What would she do? Die, most likely. Scream, kick, yell... Let all her emotions out...  
  
The sun had started to rise, a sliver of orange showing just above the horizon. Elenna went inside to wake her sister. Legolas had said they would leave first thing in the morning, and by the Valar, she intended to.  
  
Legolas walked slowly and quietly down the hall, making his way to Kyriana's room. The heels of his boots made soft clicking sounds against the hard stone of the hallway and he slowed his pace, trying not to disturb the inhabitants of the other rooms. He stopped at Kyriana's door, knocked softly, and entered when he got a grunt as a response. Kyriana lay on the bed, head covered by a pillow and hair fanned out around her body like a halo. He gently shook her awake, then left the room so she could get dressed.  
  
When she next emerged, she was dressed like a man. "I borrowed them from Maqueden." She muttered sheepishly. "I've heard that riding in dresses is very uncomfortable."  
  
Legolas grinned. The two made their way out the door and down the steps, each toting a pack.  
  
Maqueden and Elenna sat on the front steps, waiting for Legolas and Kyriana. Elenna was packed and ready. Maqueden was still trying to wake up. When the other two elves finally arrived, Maqueden was half asleep. Elenna shook her awake.  
  
Maqueden looked up groggily. "It's too early!" She groaned, shutting her eyes against the bright sunlight.  
  
"Do we have to go now? Can't we wait?"  
  
"No!" Elenna cried, pulling her sister forcefully to her feet and mounting a horse. "There is no way I am going to wait to see Astoldominien."  
  
"It won't make a difference..." Maqueden muttered.  
  
"Yes it will!"  
  
"He's not going to remember you, you know." Maqueden said, so nearly asleep she didn't realize that her words would burst her sister's bubble."  
  
Elenna sighed. "I know. But I want so badly to see him again... It's sort of like I'd go through heaven and hell just to get to him."  
  
Legolas cleared his throat rather loudly. "We should get going if we want to reach an open spot by nightfall."  
  
The others agreed. Maqueden rode behind Legolas, using his back as a pillow and trying to hide the fact that she was in love with Kyriana's fiancée. Kyriana also slept, her breathing quiet and her hair blowing into her face. Both were awake by 9:00 that morning and sat rigidly straight, ignoring the pain in their rear ends. By noon, Maqueden couldn't stand it anymore and got off the horse to walk. Kyriana soon joined her.  
  
"Do you love him?" She asked, motioning to Legolas.  
  
"You've already asked that." Maqueden said, and opened her mouth to turn the subject of the conversation away from her feelings towards the blond elf prince that held her heart, but Kyriana stopped her. "I've seen the way you look at him. The way he looks at you. I know you love him."  
  
"I do. As a brother, I mean. He's my best friend in the world... But I don't feel that way about him." Maqueden sighed. "You two are so cute together."  
  
"I don't like him that way, Maqueden, and you know it." Kyriana sighed. "Do you think I'll ever find love?"  
  
"It takes time." She smiled. "It took me two thousand years just to figure out who I liked."  
  
"Ooh, who is it? Tell me, tell me, tell me!"  
  
"No!" Maqueden mentally smacked herself in the face. "Why did I just tell her that?" She thought to herself. "Now she's never gonna let it go!"  
  
Kyriana, however, said nothing more on the subject once she saw how touchy Maqueden was about it.  
  
That evening, when they stopped to make camp, Legolas and Maqueden managed to get away with the excuse that they were both going to find firewood.  
  
"Kyriana suspects something." Maqueden said as she bent to pick up a stick. "And I've tried to convince her that there's nothing between us but she still suspects something."  
  
"I know. But we can't tell her..."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because... it would be disastrous."  
  
"And what happens when she finds out on her own?"  
  
"It won't be as disastrous."  
  
"It'll probably be worse." Maqueden bent to pick up another stick. "Hey!" She cried. "Why am I the one doing all the work?"  
  
"Because I'll mess up my hair if I do anything." Legolas grinned and leaned against a tree, watching Maqueden pick up sticks. "Men." Maqueden muttered. "I'm supposed to be the one worried about messing up my hair... but you don't see me complaining, do you?"  
  
Legolas sighed. "Nope... It's one of the things I love about you."  
  
Maqueden set her pile of firewood down on the ground. "It would take me three years to list everything I love about you." She settled into his embrace and smiled as his lips brushed her temple. Their foreheads touched and she sighed, clinging to the perfectness of the moment. Legolas entwined his fingers with hers and kissed her gently on the lips. His hands traveled to her waist and settled there, grinning as she relaxed against him. He leaned in slowly, moving almost lethargically in case Maqueden wanted him to stop. His lips met hers in a fiery and passionate kiss. The kiss was ended when Maqueden's need to breathe kicked in and she pulled away, content for now with Legolas holding her under the stars and watching the moon.  
  
ONE WEEK LATER  
  
Exactly one week later, the four approached Gondor, almost missing the city that lay on the horizon. Legolas spotted the White City first, and his cry of joy alerted the others. They arrived late that night and were quickly escorted to see the King.  
  
Aragorn laughed when he saw the three girls Legolas had brought with him. His lover, his fiancée (who weren't the same person) and his friend. Legolas had told him all about the three in his frequent letters to Gondor. Arwen, who had been standing beside him, smiled, the laughter in her eyes remaining quiet and serene.  
  
Aragorn showed the four travelers to the infirmary, where the supposed Astoldominien was currently sleeping. Elenna confirmed what the others already knew- it was him. That brought on another bout of tears when she realized that he would no longer recognize her. Or anyone else, for that matter- Astoldominien and Arwen had been friends in their earlier years, and he no longer knew who she was. But why? How? What horrific event had caused him to lose memory of those he held so close and caused him to vanish for a thousand years?  
  
Gandalf was able to explain that, with the help of a healer.  
  
A/N: Sorry for the cliffie, but if I don't leave something out there won't be a chapter 13! The UNLUCKY ONE!!!!! Muahahahahahaha lightning strikes author thinks to self "Ow. Why do bad things always happen to me when I laugh maniacally?" random person "Does it matter?"  
  
. Thank-you's!!!!!  
  
Anuri-Chan- his way out of it is actually pretty original... And funny, when you think about it. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Lil Lego- They'll stay together!!! Yes! Sorry I'm not updating more often!  
  
Glittery Bannana- Interesting penname. Oh well, it's summer here anyway, so I don't have to worry about annoying stupid teachers and their annoying stupid habits for 8 weeks! YES!!!!!! :)  
  
Kiran- sorry... He stays with Maqueden...  
  
Aliana Archer- Stupid teachers and their annoying habits! I can write but I STILL can't divide fractions and I'm in the ninth grade!!!!! sob Oh well... school's out anyway...  
  
A/N: Sorry for making you all wait so long (a whole 4 days, gasp) for this chapter. And thanks to my cuz, who edits this for me! :) 


	13. The start of remembrance

IN THE LAST CHAPTER...  
  
Elenna had just met the man (okay... elf) she loves, only he doesn't remember who she is. Which is kinda sad, if you think about it... Anyhoo, Gandalf and a healer are about to explain why he doesn't remember any of them.  
  
And seeing as how I haven't done a disclaimer for a few chapters... Here it is. I own nothing... Except my flute. Oh, by the way, I SURVIVED BAND CAMP!!!!! YES!!!!!!! Muahahahahahahahahahahahaha bird poops on author's head WHY DO BAD THINGS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO MEEEEEEEE?????  
  
"Astoldominien has had a very rough time, Elenna." Gandalf said, though if it was meant as consolation it didn't help any. "He has spent nearly a thousand years just trying to get to you. He would have married you in a heartbeat if he'd had the chance."  
  
"I know all this." She snapped, looking at the sleeping form of the elf she loved. "Just tell me why he doesn't remember me."  
  
"In short, he spent close to a thousand years as a prisoner. He tried to escape and when he finally succeeded, he fell out of a third story window and hit his head. When I found him he was almost dead. I've spent five years trying everything I can to restore his memory... I am sorry. I've done the best I can."  
  
"I don't understand. How... how did they take him prisoner?"  
  
(Don't ask me who "they" are... I don't know! I needed it for the plot, people!)  
  
"He was hurt. A broken leg, or something like that. They found him... and instead of killing him, they took him as a prisoner and never would let him go. He was treated harshly but not abused... locked away like a prize. And maybe that's what he was... We'll probably never know." Gandalf sighed.  
  
Elenna looked down at her hands, folded neatly in her lap. "Is there any hope? Will he ever be who he was?" She asked, fearing the answer would be no.  
  
"He'll never be exactly the same... Talk to him. Tell him who you are. Tell him about your sister, about Legolas... Tell him about his home. Show him things that have a significance in his life. Maybe one of those things can spark his memory enough for him to start remembering who he is... Who you are. Who we are." Gandalf sighed. "It's been a long day. You should get some sleep."  
  
"I will." Elenna promised. She laid her head on her shoulder and waited until Gandalf had left, then silently broke down and wept. All the emotions, all the fears, everything she had felt over the last week was poured into those tears. It felt good to cry. It felt good not to have to be strong anymore.  
  
Sometime in the early morning, she heard Astoldominien stir. She wiped away her tears and turned, trying to hide her tears from him.  
  
"Why you weep?" He asked, raising himself up on his elbows so he could see her better. As soon as he saw her face he knew. He knew she was the one everyone had been telling him to remember. It was there, in his head... But he couldn't reach it. He couldn't remember who she was or what part she had had in his life... He couldn't remember anything about her.  
  
Elenna stood still for a moment, trying to think of an answer she could give that he could understand. Finally, she answered. "I have lost someone dear to me." She murmured. "He does not know who I am... And I miss him very much."  
  
"I'll help you find him." He offered. Elenna smiled through her tears.  
  
"It is very kind of you to offer... But I doubt you could do anything to make him remember me, Astoldominien."  
  
"How do you know my name?" He asked, looking confused. "Have I told you?"  
  
Elenna sighed. "I've known you for almost two thousand years."  
  
"So you... You are the one everyone keeps telling me to remember."  
  
Elenna nodded. "My name's Elenna." She said. She sat back down in her chair and sighed. "I need to go. My sister will worry about me."  
  
"Tell her not to." Astoldominien grinned.  
  
"I wish it was that easy. She's a little overprotective." Elenna smiled. "Goodnight, Astoldominien." She stood up and walked to the door.  
  
"Goodnight Elenna." Astoldominien called as she left.  
  
After she left, Astoldominien stood by the window for a while. Gandalf came silently into his room and cleared his throat to make his presence known. "You used to love her, you know."  
  
"I don't remember her. How can I love someone I don't know?" Astoldominien sighed in frustration.  
  
"Try to remember. Think from the back of your head." Gandalf started once again on the familiar routine he used to coach Astoldominien through every day in a futile attempt to get him to remember Elenna.  
  
"Gods, Gandalf, what do you think I've been doing for five years?!" Astoldominien asked. "I want to remember her. It's there. I just can't... I can't reach it. Isn't there some kind of... spell or something you could use?"  
  
"I've already told you. I can do nothing for you. It's up to Elenna to help you now." Gandalf said. "I've searched and tried everything that I found... Everything that was even semi-tied to remembrance. I've done all I can."  
  
Astoldominien sighed. Deciding to move onto another subh=ject before the one they were on drove them both crazy, he asked, "Is Maqueden here?"  
  
"Maqueden?" Gandalf asked, looking up quickly and bending to pick up his hat from where it had fallen off his head.  
  
"Elenna had a twin sister, right?" He paused. Then, "I remembered something!" He smiled, an ear-to-ear grin that threatened to crack his face.  
  
Gandalf laughed. "See? Less than five minutes with her and you already remember her crazy twin sister. It is pretty hard to forget Maqueden, though... Maybe that one shouldn't count..."  
  
Astoldominien joined in with the laughter. He hadn't felt this good in a long time.  
  
Elenna sat on the window seat in her room, looking out over Gondor. A knock on her door startled her and she jumped, then called "Come in!"  
  
Maqueden and Kyriana came into the room. There was silence for a moment as Maqueden contemplated the effect her news might have on Elenna. Then, pushing all consequences aside, she spoke. "Without really meaning to... I was sort of eavesdropping... But not on purpose! Anyway, Gandalf and Astoldominien were talking and he started talking about me..."  
  
"So he remembers something?" The hope in Elenna's eyes was almost contagious. "What did he say?"  
  
"He just randomly asked 'Is Maqueden here?' and then said, 'she had a twin sister, right?' and Gandalf told him he had remembered me. And then they started laughing." Maqueden said, cinveniently leaving out the part about Elenna's "crazy twin sister".  
  
Elenna screamed into her pillow. Maqueden smiled and Kyriana laughed. When Elenna removed her face from the pillow, she asked, "Are you sure you heard this correctly?"  
  
"Yup." Maqueden said matter-of-factly.  
  
Elenna smiled. "Maybe if I'm with him tomorrow he'll start remembering me. I mean, it's great that he remembers you and all..."  
  
"But you love him." Maqueden finished for her. "Elenna... It may take a long time."  
  
"I know. But I don't care. I just want him to love me again."  
  
Maqueden smiled. "Well, now that we know you're alive, I'm going to get some sleep. And find Legolas... Where in Middle Earth could he have wandered off to?" Kyriana laughed and the two girls left Elenna's room.  
  
Elenna fell back onto her bed and realized something. "There is no way I am going to be able to sleep tonight." She thought to herself.  
  
A/N: Short chapter... Or, at least, it took less than 24 hours to write... : ) Anyhoo... This is the summer of random updates, so the chapters won't be coming at the end of every week, like usual. So I might update three times in one week. Actually, I'm trying to catch up... I should be on chapter 18 right now... sigh Right. READ THIS READ THIS READ THIS!!!!!!! PLEASE!!!  
  
I am now asking you if you want a sequel or if I should let my cousin author a series called "Water" which has Maqueden and Elenna and Legolas in it... And it might have Astoldominien... Hang on, lemme check... Yep. Astoldominien is in it. Anyway, it's when Maqueden discovers she's a "Hidden Istari" and then meets Legolas... And of course they fall in love... There's 5 in the series and there might be a sixth... So let me know in your reviews. Cuz I need to start planning the sequel, if you want one.  
  
THANK YOU'S!!!!!  
  
Aliana Archer- thanks! Okies, now that I know what they drink...  
  
Tenacious D- thanks! I'm glad you like it. The next chapter should be here by the end of the week.  
  
Nilimade- thanks! Now I know what to give them the next time they decide to get thirsty on me! 


	14. Caught

A/N: This chapter will be fluffy. : ) I'm editing this in a hotel room in Panama City, people! Have mercy on me! And don't even get me started on the beach rant... mutters under breath Muahahahahahahahahahha! My beach rant is- crab pinches author's big toe said in squeak superior to yours.  
  
Legolas lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Thoughts of Maqueden were racing through his head. He was, to put it bluntly, scared out of his wits. For Elenna, of course. He didn't know what would become of her or Astoldominien should the elf not remember who she was. Legolas knew Elenna knew it would take time for Astoldominien to remember her... But he also knew that if it took too long, Elenna would lose hope. Hope was not something she needed to lose at this particular moment in time.  
  
Legolas sighed and rolled over onto his stomach, burying his face into his pillow. Thoughts were racing through his head... So fast he barely had time to recognize what he was thinking before another thought took its place... And there were so many he didn't know what to do! With a sigh, he walked out his door and down the hall, until he came to a door that led him outside. When he stepped out, the summer breeze brushed against his face and he sighed again, mistaking the figure already outside for another of Gondor's many guards and walking past it.  
  
The person spoke to him in a quiet voice. "Couldn't sleep?"  
  
It was Maqueden. Legolas smiled. "No." He whispered. "Too much to think about... Too much to do... Gods... I'm worried, Maqueden."  
  
"About what? Elenna will be fine."  
  
"How do you know? What if Astoldominien doesn't remember her fast enough and she loses hope? What if she dies? What will you do? What if you die? What will I do? What will-"  
  
Maqueden kissed him soundly on the mouth, effectively stopping all flow of words. Legolas stiffened in surprise, then slowly relaxed and leaned into the kiss. Maqueden drew away slowly. "Like I said... She'll be fine." She murmured as she kissed him again, more gently this time. "He remembers me." She added in an undertone as Legolas kissed her softly, his hands wrapping themselves around her waist.  
  
"Oh really?" He asked, his forehead resting on hers, his voice deep and husky.  
  
"Really." Maqueden breathed as Legolas kissed her again, pulling her closer to himself and drawing away when his need to breathe kicked in. Just as the two leaned in for another kiss, a loud cough made them spring apart.  
  
Kyriana stood in the doorway, eyeing the two rather confusedly.  
  
"How long were you there?" Maqueden asked, very interested in everything in the room but at Kyriana.  
  
"A few minutes." Kyriana lied. She had been there much more than a few minutes.  
  
"Look... I don't..." Legolas began, but he soon found that he couldn't go on.  
  
"Want to marry me?" Kyriana asked, grinning when Legolas nodded. "That's all fine and dandy with me... I don't like you either. I mean, I do... But not in that way." She turned to Maqueden. "I asked you twice if you liked him and you told me no!"  
  
"Right, what could I say? 'I'm sorry Kyriana, but I'm in love with your fiancée...' What would you have said?"  
  
"Probably that I don't mind and I'm very happy for the two of you. Why'd you hide it from me?" Kyriana was obviously hurt.  
  
"Does it look like I wanted to hide it? What happens if someone let something slip to my father? He'd kill, mutilate, or otherwise maim me! And Maqueden! And the messenger!" Legolas cried, trying to defend himself.  
  
"Is that so bad?"  
  
"When you're the ruler of a country it is." Legolas sighed. "Look, the point is, we didn't want to hide this from you. So... forgive me?" He finished lamely.  
  
"Please?" Maqueden asked, suddenly very conscious of how close to Legolas she sat and scooting away.  
  
Kyriana smiled. "I forgive you." She sighed. "So how do you plan to keep this from your father again?"  
  
THE NEXT MORNING  
  
The next morning, Elenna jumped out of bed and raced to Astoldominien's room. He was already awake and standing outside the door, looking around rather confusedly.  
  
"Lose something?" Elenna asked, stopping to help him look for whatever was missing.  
  
"No. I can't... ah... I can't remember my way to the dining room." He admitted sheepishly. "I mean... I should, I've been here for more than a week..."  
  
"Come on then, follow me. That's where I'm headed." Elenna took his arm and led him down the hall.  
  
After breakfast, the two took a walk outside. Elenna talked of life in Mirkwood and of Maqueden, in whom Astoldominien had a sudden interest. After Elenna mentioned that Maqueden was taken, by Legolas, Astoldominien smiled. "I'm not talking about her because I'm interested in her... I'm talking about her because I actually remember her." Elenna smiled at this comment and listened as Astoldominien continued. "The other girl with you... Kyriana something or other. Should I remember her as well?"  
  
"No. Kyriana is Legolas's fiancé. She's new to Mirkwood... You wouldn't know her." Elenna explained, wondering if Astoldominien would catch the fact that Kyriana was Legolas's fiancée, but Maqueden was his lover... and he did.  
  
"But I thought you said he was in love with Maqueden." Astoldominien muttered, looking very confused.  
  
"It's complicated." Elenna said quietly. "Legolas was forced into a marriage with Kyriana by his father. Legolas doesn't like Kyriana and Kyriana doesn't like Legolas, so Legolas fell in love with Maqueden. But Kyriana doesn't actually know this, so don't tell her, please." Elenna pleaded.  
  
"Relax. I won't tell her."  
  
There was a thick silence for a moment, before Elenna broke it by asking, "Do you remember anything from before you fell?"  
  
"I remember falling out of that window. I'm starting to remember bits and pieces of other things, all of which involve Maqueden. Like that one time we were out on the lake and she was waving a fish in front of my face... and I fell out of the boat..." He laughed. "Honestly, I don't remember much, only a memory here and there. Nothing much." "Do you remember me at all?"  
  
Astoldominien sighed. "No." He whispered. "I don't."  
  
His words struck Elenna like a knife. Hiding her pain, she stayed silent for a minute. She had known he wasn't going to remember her... But hearing him say it made the pain ten times worse. Instead of saying anything, she nodded.  
  
"You all right?"  
  
"I'm fine." She said softly. "It's nothing."  
  
"How long are you staying?"  
  
"A few weeks. Legolas is getting married in a few months, so we need to go back and plan for that."  
  
"Right."  
  
There was silence, and for a moment, both seemed content to listen to it. Suddenly, Elenna spoke, startling Astoldominien. "What can I do to make you remember me?"  
  
A/N: Here it is!!!!!! Ok, this was half written when I sent it to my cousin to finish it, and she's in Panama City working on it right now. sigh they never take me with them... thinks to self Oh well.  
  
THANK YOU'S!!!!!!!!!  
  
Maveri [reachforthesky] est- Thank you! No... Something evil happens to her dad... but I'm not telling what!!! Muahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha author attacked by small child with Barbie Sigh. They never give me a chance.  
  
Arwen-the-first- Thanks!  
  
Drummerchick1988- thanks! Band geeks rule!!! Muahahaha author stops before she can be attacked by demon Barbie again  
  
Aliana Archer- yep. He remembered. grin but I'm not telling you what happens!!!!!  
  
Juliet Faramirae- cool name. How do you pronounce that? Thanks!  
  
Mystress Deidra- thanks!  
  
Rebel dreamer- is this Dreamstreet the band??? And no, that's not a bad thing... Me too! I became first chair right after Christmas... Or maybe it was right before... Hmmm... Thanks for reviewing!!! takes pixie stick  
  
AND FINALLY... Lorski and Emski...  
  
sigh you two have waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much time on your hands. And Lorksi... No, I didn't know Gandalf left... I mean, I did... but I it for the plot, okay?!!!?!?!?!?!?!  
  
Emski- what have I told you about taking Aragorn's sword? Or Aragorn himself? sigh they never listen. shakes head and walks away shouts over shoulder LEAVE ARAGORN ALONE!!!!!!!!  
  
Oh yeah... You two come up with the strangest names... Lorksi nicknamed me Tater! Does that TELL you anything?! 


	15. Must I leave you?

A/N: Okies... I'm gonna ask one more time and if I don't get some reviews I'm gonna write something completely irrelevant to LOTR. Like Code Lyoko. Ok. Do you want a sequel (About Elenna's wedding and Maqueden's first child) A prequel (About Elenna and Astoldominien) or a new series called water (Maqueden discovers she's the first Hidden Istari... A female with Istari's powers... That one'll be a mary-sue...) And in between I'm gonna write a one shot about Ulrich and Yumi from Code Lyoko... I'm thinking a Christmas Party at Yumi's house...  
  
Just let me know so I can start planning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
CH. 15  
  
"What can I do to make you remember me?" Elenna asked.  
  
Astoldominien sighed. "I don't know." He whispered. "I just don't know. I want to remember... I do! It's there, in my head... I just can't reach it. Gandalf tried everything he knew to get me to remember... And I just can't. I'm trying! I really, truly am, Elenna."  
  
"I know you are. I just..." Elenna sighed. "What have they told you?"  
  
"What little they knew. That I loved you. They told me you had a sister... And about Legolas."  
  
"We... you had asked me to marry you. The wedding was a week after you left. I thought you would come back. I waited, for what seemed like ages. It may have been. Everything is a blur until this last year."  
  
"I wanted to come back to you... I know I did." Astoldominien sighed. "I hate not being able to remember who I am... It causes other people so much pain." Astoldominien sighed. "I hate being who I am."  
  
"Don't say that!" Elenna cried. "Listen to me. You are who you are. Nothing and nobody can change that but you. I loved... love... you for who you were and are. You haven't changed one bit from the Astoldominien I knew."  
  
Astoldominien sighed again. "I wish it hadn't happened this way. It wasn't supposed to. I was supposed to go to battle and come back to you. Legolas was supposed to be my best man..."  
  
"Who told you that?" Elenna asked.  
  
"No one. I... I remembered something else!" Astoldominien cried joyfully, jumping up. "I can't believe it! This is working! I'm remembering!"  
  
THREE WEEKS L.ATER...  
  
Three weeks later, it was decided three to one that the Mirkwood party needed to return home. Astoldominien had improved significantly, though he was just barely scratching the surface of all the many memories he had lost. Elenna was the only one who had voted to stay, and that was only because she was the only one who could help him. He was in no condition to travel... or so the healer said. Gandalf was suddenly nowhere to be found, so his opinion could not be included.  
  
So it became that Elenna trudged glumly to the garden where she and Astoldominien had taken up meeting every morning to give him the bad news.  
  
"What's wrong?" Astoldominien asked, noticing the sadness in her eyes. "Why the long face?"  
  
"I have to leave." She sank slowly onto the ground and let a tear fall from her eye. "The other three I came with need to leave... tomorrow. I have to go with them."  
  
"You can't!" Astoldominien cried, finding a spot beside her and sitting down. "You're the only one in a thousand years who has been able to help me... You can't leave now! I need you!"  
  
"Gods, do you think I WANT to leave?" Elenna asked. "I want to stay!" She sighed. "I was close. You were close to remembering. Maybe next time."  
  
"What if there isn't a next time?!" Astoldominien asked, close to tears. "I need you to stay, Elenna. You're my only hope to recovery, no matter how long it takes."  
  
"I know. I know! Gods, that's painfully obvious to everyone but THEM. I know." Elenna sniffled. "What do you want me to do?"  
  
"I ask only because I know from watching you that you need me. I need you. I can't leave and you're safe here, for the time being. Stay here." He whispered. "Please."  
  
"I... my sister, and Legolas... And Kyriana! I can't leave them! And I've tried to ask for one more week, but apparently, King Thranduil wants us back as soon as possible." She sniffled again. Then, unable to contain her pain, she burst into tears and flung herself at Astoldominien, who awkwardly patted her on the shoulder.  
  
Neither noticed the shadows in the bushes. Neither knew that what would happen next would change their futures.  
  
Behind the bushes stood Maqueden, Legolas, and Kyriana, who were listening to the conversation between the two elves. Astonished, the three backed away and made their way to the entrance of the garden, where they stopped and stood in stunned silence.  
  
Maqueden spoke first. "He has a point, you know." She sighed, slipping her hand into Legolas's. "She needs him to keep her alive. He needs her to remember. They depend on each other,"  
  
"We can't leave her here." Legolas sighed. "And I have to go back... We have half a year until the wedding. Which I still haven't figured out how to get out of, by the way. My father will go ballistic if we don't start planning."  
  
"I don't think there is a way out." Kyriana giggled, laughing at Legolas's hopeless expression as the words left her mouth. "I've been thinking of ways to get out, too."  
  
"Can we focus on the problem at hand, people?" Maqueden asked. "Elenna obviously needs to stay here. So let her."  
  
"How will she get home again?"  
  
"As long as she's here before the wedding, we can go meet her halfway."  
  
Legolas sighed. "I don't like it... But fine."  
  
Elenna sighed as she packed her suitcase. Astoldominien sat outside her door, reading a book he had gotten from Aragorn. She threw her things in her bag, not caring if it was folded or not. "Sweet Eru, why do I have to leave NOW?!" She thought to herself. "Of all the times to leave, they had to pick the worst one."  
  
A cough from behind her made her look up. "What?" She asked, when she saw it was Legolas.  
  
"I heard you in the garden." He admitted sheepishly. "And... you really do need to stay. He needs you more than we do. So if you really want to stay..."  
  
"I LOVE YOU!" Elenna cried, throwing herself at him and giving him a bear hug. "Thank you thank you thank you THANK YOU!!!"  
  
Astoldominien came from down the hall to talk to Elenna. "What's going on?"  
  
"I can stay!" Elenna cried. "They're going to let me stay!"  
  
She ran to Astoldominien and gave him a bear hug, too. When she pulled away, a huge grin graced her features. Her smile caused Legolas to smile- Elenna had smiled only once in the 900 years since Astoldominien had disappeared. Legolas nodded and wished them a good night on his way out the door  
  
The next morning, Kyriana, Legolas, and Maqueden were ready to go and had mounted their horses when Elenna and Astoldominien came running down the road. "Wait!" Elenna cried. Maqueden, who was riding with Kyriana. She quickly turned her horse around and rode back to meet her sister.  
  
"Goodbye." Elenna whispered, reaching up to embrace Maqueden.  
  
"The best of luck to you." Maqueden whispered back. "Namaarie... I'll miss you." (goodbye)  
  
"Be safe. Write me every week." Elenna murmured.  
  
"I will." Maqueden promised. Giving her sister one last hug, she mounted her horse and rode away, refusing to look back for the fear that her resolve would shatter and she would find herself unwilling to leave her sister alone in this unfamiliar place.  
  
Elenna and Astoldominien walked slowly back inside. Astoldominien knew that Elenna's time was limited, and he worried. For himself, and for her. Elenna... well... she had other things on her mind.  
  
A/N: Ok, if you didn't read the AN at the beginning of the chapter, I'll put it in this one. Do you want a sequel, a prequel, or another series?  
  
And my cousin's coming for a week, so the next chapter won't be for a while... considering I'm going on Choir tour with my church for two weeks... so in about four weeks you can expect another chapter. I might surprise you and put one up this week... ya never know... And I hope you will forgive me if this chapter sorta stunk... Had VBS all week... thinks to self I WILL ATTACK THOSE 5-YEAR-OLDS!!!! Muahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!! toddler with a brick bops author on head author falls over Oh... my head...  
  
THANK YOU'S!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Maveri (reachforthestars) est – no... The pairing stays Maqueden/Legolas Elenna/Astoldominien... (that name is murder!!!!!!!!!) But it would be a cool twist!  
  
Merenwen/ Shili-Dwelf of Lorien- thanks!  
  
Ceherryfaerie- yep. I was attacked by Marpessa... sigh why can't she just leave people alone?  
  
Aliana Archer- He does get caught by Thranduil... But not until it's too late and he's already... Whoops! Almost gave the ending away!  
  
Thanks to everyone who reviewed! : ) 


	16. Proposal

Three months passed after the trio arrived home, which Legolas and Kyriana spent thinking of ways to get out of the wedding, each more ridiculous than the last. And so it was that Legolas found himself spending a rainy, boring Saturday stuck in his room, instead of going on a picnic with Maqueden as he had planned. With a sigh, the prince fell back onto his bed. He stared boredly out the window, staring helplessly at the rain that fell in sheets from the sky. This was the only day this week he could spend with Maqueden, what with the wedding and all, and now the forces of nature had ruined it all. Groaning, he tied to fall asleep but he had no such luck; a sharp noise on his window brought him back to reality. Sighing, he stood up to see what this noise was... and saw Maqueden standing outside his window. Mouth agape, he opened it and yelled, "What are you DOING?!" Apparently, throwing rocks at his window was her preferred way of waking him up.  
  
"Waiting on you!" She yelled back. "I thought we had a lunch date!"  
  
"We do!" Legolas called. "But it's raining!"  
  
"So?" Maqueden asked, and suddenly, Legolas noticed she was soaking wet.  
  
"I'll get wet!" He called back.  
  
"So?" She asked.  
  
"Oh, come on, now. You can't expect me to... I'll be soaked!" He cried.  
  
"And I say it again. SO?!" Maqueden laughed, leaning against a tree and brushing a strand of rain-soaked hair out of her face.  
  
Legolas grinned. "I'll be right there!" He called, shutting his window and disappearing from view. A few moments later, he reappeared outside. "So. Where to, now that we're both soaked to he bone?"  
  
"Anywhere." Maqueden wrung most of the water out of her hair. "Pick a place."  
  
The two sprinted off into the rain.  
  
A half-hour later, the two were found by Kyriana as they sat on a fallen log inside a sheltered glade of trees. Legolas was leaned back, arms wrapped lovingly around Maqueden's waist, as she leaned her head against his chest and closed her eyes.  
  
"I love you." Legolas whispered.  
  
"I love you too." Maqueden whispered back. Then, looking up at Legolas with egret in her eyes, she sighed. "We should go." She muttered. "Your father will suspect something if we don't get back soon. Besides, we have a wedding to plan."  
  
Legolas groaned. "Must we?"  
  
"Yes, we must. You and Kyriana are going to get married, whether you like it or not. Neither of you can do anything to change that."  
  
"We can't. You can." Kyriana suddenly appeared out of her place in the shadows. "I have a plan, but I cannot carry it out without your consent." She took a breath. "I need to speak with Legolas... alone."  
  
Once the two were sure Maqueden had gone back to her cabin in the woods, Kyriana spoke. "Have you ever considered marrying Maqueden?" She asked bluntly. The question caught Legolas off guard.  
  
"What?!" He yelped, refusing to let hiself believe that what he thought he had heard wasn't what he had heard.  
  
"Have you ever considered marying Maqueden?" Kyiana asked again, softer this time.  
  
"Why do you need to know?" Legolas asked, blushing a bit.  
  
"Yes or no. Just answer."  
  
"I have." He said quietly, ears red.  
  
"Ah." Kyriana smiled. "Good then. My plan will work if the three of us can do this right."  
  
"And what is this oh-so-genius plan of yours?"  
  
Kyriana smiled. "Your father is going to hate you for this... So will mine... But I'm leaving Mirkwood after you get married... Anyway, when you can work up the courage, you ask..."  
  
Maqueden eased herself into a chair at the kitchen table. Kitchen duty had been so boring without Elenna there to make her laugh. Her sister had also asked her to keep an eye on her memory garden, which she did, even though she didn't know beans about gardening. Pen in hand, she began to write her weekly letter to Elenna.  
  
"Elenna," She wrote,  
  
"Legolas and I are very happy here. We miss you and Astoldominien and hope you can come soon... Nothing much is going on here. Legolas and Kyriana have started planing their wedding, which is in three months. I know it will take you at least a month to get here... So if you can, please come. I have a feeling it won't be a normal wedding." Maqueden went on about their day, ending with Kyriana's suspicious behavior. The letter ended with Maqueden's plea for her sister to come home. That done, she fixed herself an early dinner and fell asleep on her couch, instead of her bed, like she usually would. That night, her life would change so much that when she looked back, she had trouble remembering how things were before.  
  
She was sleeping on her couch when she woke to someone gently shaking her. Yawning and rolling over, she came face to face with Legolas. She bit back a yelp of surprise and embarrassment when she realized she was clothed in a shirt that barely skimmed the bottom of her underwear. She wrapped herself in her blanket and sat upright, then whispered, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I needed to see you." He answered, taking her by the hand.  
  
"Legolas! It's the MIDDLE of the NIGHT!"  
  
"I have to ask you something." He admitted, reaching his hand into his pocket to make sure the ring was still there.  
  
"Oh, no. Not this again. The last time you said that, you kissed me. What is it this time?"  
  
Legolas led her outside, where the moon shone through the trees and the stars lay blanketing the sky. Taking her by both hands, he knelt. "Maqueden... Will you marry me?"  
  
A/N: YAY!!! He proposed!!! But I'm not telling you WHY until the next few chapters... everything comes together then.... He really wasn't supposed to propose until the next chapter but I decided I wanted to be mean and leave it with a cliffy. My cousin's on the other computer on IM so I figured, what the heck, I'm gonna write. So I did. This keyboard has two keys that stick and my spell checker is evil... I've tried to fix all typos, but I promise you nothing.  
  
THANK YOU'S!!!!!!  
  
ArienKaleneiel – Yeah... Glue is yucky... I'm on the puppet team and we had a puppet show to do, so I never got to be there for crafts... Thankfully... : )  
  
Nilimade- Thanks for your contrubution! I'll consider both!  
  
Aliana Archer- I didn't mean to make anyone cry!!! sob sorry! He does get out of it.. . as you can sorta tell... If you think about it you can fu=igure out what they do to get out of it before I tell you.. In three weeks. Muahahahahahahahahahaha!!! gets stabbed by angry mob of reviewers  
  
THANKS TO ALL THREE REVIEWERS!!! 'course, I can't complain... I only posted a few days ago... See ya when I get back from choir tour!!! I GET MY BRACES OFF IN 4 WEEKS!!! does happy dance 


	17. Acceptance

A/N: Here it is! Chapter 17! yay This chapter starts off where the last chapter left off... so... Yeah... I don't think I'll get any more posted for a week or two after this... Unless, by a stroke of luck, a chaperone happens to bring a laptop on the tour so I can write. That would be nice. : )  
  
"Will you marry me?" Legolas repeated after a few minutes of shocked silence.  
  
"I... we can't. You can't do this! Your wedding is in three months!" Maqueden cried, backing away. "How much wine have you had tonight?" She was half afraid that he wasn't drunk... half afraid that he was being dead serious and asking her to marry him.  
  
"Not enough to intoxicate me, I assure you. I am in my right mind." Legolas spoke without slurring his words and Maqueden could smell no alcohol on his breath, but she was still doubtful.  
  
"Then you wouldn't have just asked me to marry you." She spoke uncertainly, almost afraid to believe that her greatest dream was slowly becoming a reality.  
  
"But I did." His voice wavered, and he realized how nervous he was. What if she said no? The plan wouldn't work... But this wasn't about the plan. This was because he loved her. He knew he could spend the rest of his life with her if she would just give him a chance.  
  
"Legolas..."  
  
"Instead of marrying Kyriana, I marry you, and everyone thinks you're Kyriana because they can't see your face." Legolas explained. "It's all part of her plan. She gave me the idea, really."  
  
"Your father will kill you! And me!" Now she was looking for excuses. The fact of the matter was, she wanted to marry him so much.  
  
"I know him. I think once he realizes that I was willing to marry you to get myself out of a marriage with Kyriana, he'll understand why I did it. It's only because I couldn't find myself a wife, you know." He whispered, kissing her gently on the lips.  
  
"But what if he doesn't understand?"  
  
"It'll be too late. We'll already be married."  
  
There was a long pause. "I will." Maqueden finally whispered, allowing Legolas to draw her further into his embrace. He reached inside his pocket and pulled out the ring – a gold band with a diamond surrounded by a circle of sapphires. He slipped it gently onto her left ring finger and kissed her once more.  
  
"I love you." He whispered. "So much."  
  
The next morning was hectic. Maqueden wore the ring on a chain around her neck, explaining apologetically to Legolas that she didn't want anyone she didn't know to know she was engaged, because that would raise the question of who the lucky man was. Then she would have to make up some story of who she was engaged to, which she would never remember. In short, it was safer.  
  
Legolas, Maqueden, and Kyriana started re-planning the wedding to fit the new couple's needs. The only thing that was a must was a veil that covered Maqueden's entire face and made it impossible for everyone to see her. After the trio went to search for florists, they went with Legolas to make sure that Thranduil had a spot picked out for the wedding. Maqueden tagged along as "moral support" even though that job had now been passed to Kyriana. But Thranduil couldn't know that, because if he did, it would ruin the surprise of the whole thing.  
  
They viewed possible places until Legolas found one he and Maqueden liked. Kyriana had become nonsocial around Thranduil, who thought she was merely feeling a little upset because her father had not yet returned from hunting those invisible spiders. Kyriana couldn't be happier about this fact but kept that lovely piece of information to herself and walked silently beside Legolas as they left the castle and went to see the dressmaker.  
  
A/N: This one is interesting...  
  
The elf already had Kyriana's size. She boldly walked inside the shop and rang the "ring for service" bell.  
  
"Is there any way I could change my dress?" She asked, watching Maqueden walk out the door to stand outside. The hilarity of it all was enough to kill someone.  
  
"Certanily... But why? If you don't mind my asking?"  
  
"I'm... ah..." She looked over her shoulders and noticed the "Maternity" section. "I'm pregnant with his child. You can't tell now... But by the wedding, I'll be bigger."  
  
Legolas's eyes bugged out of his head when Kyriana said this. Of coudse she wasn't pregnant with his child... But having a woman lie about having your child... He shuddered at the thought.  
  
The elf smirked at this and told Kyriana to get back to him in a few days. Trusting that she had a tape measurer somewhere in her bag, Kyriana led Legolas to the door.  
  
Since Thranduil would be performing the wedding ceremony, the only things left on their list were to find someone to cater the reception and find a few elves who would be willing to play an instrument. They walked back to the castle, where Maqueden collapsed on Legolas's bed and sighed. "I'm not used to this... Shopping tires me out!" With a groan, she let her head fall back onto the pillow and closed her eyes.  
  
"Too bad." Kyriana appeared from nowhere with a tape measurer. "I gotta measure you if you're going to fit into that dress. Otherwise it's going to swallow you whole."  
  
"I left before I could hear you tell them why you were changing dresses and sizes."  
  
"I told him that I was pregnant with Legolas's child and that I would be bigger in three months." Kyriana said this with a straight face, which made it even more hilarious.  
  
Maqueden burst out laughing. "WHAT?!"  
  
"Relax. It's nothing. They're all going to realize it's not me anyway when you kiss..."  
  
Maqueden smiled. After Kyriana finished with the tape measurer, she wrote everything down on a piece of parchment on the table and left the room.  
  
Maqueden sighed again as she kicked off her shoes and lay on Legolas's bed. She yawned. "I love you." She murmured.  
  
"Love you too." Legolas took his twin braids out and ran a comb through his hair. He looked at Maqueden. "Three more months and I'll wake up to you every morning."  
  
"Legolas... I don't think I can do this." Maqueden whispered, curling up in a ball. "I know I can't. I can't be queen... There's no way..."  
  
"You can. I know you can." Legolas pulled her closer and kissed her.  
  
"It's not as easy as it sounds, Legolas." Maqueden rolled over to face Legolas, snuggling closer to him. "You were born with this... You've grown up knowing that the throne would one day be yours. I've grown up wondering if there was enough to feed me and my sister. You grew up knowing what to do in certain situations. I grew up wondering what to do for everything. You're a born leader. I'm..." She yawned. "Not." She finished, a bit lamely. "I'm just scared."  
  
"You'll do fine." Legolas whispered. His arms tightened around her waist "Trust me." His warm breath on her neck sent shivers down her spine and she puled her knees to her chest, trying to keep warm. She found herself wrapped in Legolas's embrace and leaned into it, relaxing. Moments later, she fell asleep.  
  
When she woke up the next morning, the first thing she noticed was that she was in the clothes she had worn the night before. Then she realized that she was not in her room. She rolled over and came face to face with Legolas.  
  
She bit back a yelp of surprise. "Umm..."  
  
He laughed. "You fell asleep here last night and I didn't want to move you."  
  
"Oh." She paused. "How long have you been watching me?"  
  
"A few minutes. Not long." Legolas grinned. "I could get used to this."  
  
Maqueden smiled. "Me too."  
  
(A/N: Ok... they kept their clothes on, just so you know... x . x;  
  
There was silence for a moment before a knock on the door startled them both. Maqueden jumped out of the bed and managed to be sitting on the chair across the room by the time Thranduil walked inside. Legolas had managed to get himself out of the bed and was sitting on top of the tangled sheets and blankets, wearing an expression of innocence  
  
Thranduil's momentary surprise at seeing Maqueden in his son's room so early in the morning disappeared when Legolas explained that she was, once again, there for moral support. Kyriana was supposed to be meeting them, though she was still asleep. Maqueden took this as her cue and left the room to find Kyriana.  
  
"Kyriana?" Maqueden called through the door.  
  
"Come in!" Came the cheerful reply.  
  
Maqueden entered the room and found Kyriana doing one of her favorite things – drawing. She was working on a picture of Arwen, with whom she had become good friends in the time they had spent in Gondor. Seeing Arwen's picture made Maqueden realize she hadn't written to Elenna to tell them about her engagement to Legolas. Asking if she could borrow some paper and a pen, she wrote,  
  
"Elenna!!! You are NEVER gonna guess what all has happened in the last two days!!! It all started when..."  
  
A/N: not the best place to leave it, but oh well. I'll leave you with a cliffie for three weeks... Decided that I wanted to write again... I leave on Monday for Arizona... YAY!!! I'm gonna hike into the Grand Canyon and go to Mexico and... what else am I gonna do? Oh... right... Sing the national anthem at an Arizona Diamondbacks game... Not me, in particular, but my whole choir... If you catch the game, watch it! I'm an alto... On the left side of the guys... who should be in the middle... :) Ok. Gonna go watch big fish now. Bye! Oh... In the next chapter, Astoldominien gets his memory back! Yay! I'll write it on the bus on Monday...  
  
Lilyana Turner has left the building. Please leave a review after the hahas. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! goes into coughing fit coughs up poodle Spiffy! You came back!!!  
  
THANK YOU'S!!!!  
  
Sweet Krok- thanks!  
  
ArienKaleniel- I don't think I got your whole e-mail... But now you know what her plan is!!!  
  
()- : ) I'm probably gonna do both. And then Water... It's good once I can figure out a way to un-marysue it...  
  
Blondeducky77- haha... dodges peanuts Grabs person's peanut pelter and starts shooting back. random camera guy "ACTION!" That was random...  
  
Aliana Archer- not three weeks anymore... Only about 10 days... But if I find a computer with a suitable floppy drive and internet access, I may update there... Don't count on it, though...  
  
AnGeL Thanks!!!!  
  
Merenwen/ Shili-Dwelf of Lorien- I never can spell your name right... sighs Anyhoo... Rightey-o... I'm making you wait ten days to two weeks for the next chapter... Muahahahaha! looks around, waiting for heavy object to fall on head  
  
Ok! This is the last time you'll hear from me for a while. As they say in Spanish, Adios amigos! Sólo hablo inglés!!! (goodbye friend! I only speak English!!!) Tootles! 


	18. Planning My Own Wedding

A/N: In the last chapter, Maqueden has been proposed to by Legolas. This chapter is going to be really short... Considering that I couldn't find a stopping point and wrote about half of this one into last night's chapter without meaning to... Sorry...You can all throw peanuts at me at incredibly high speeds.  
  
"It all started when Kyriana asked if she could talk to Legolas alone." Elenna was sitting on her bed, reading a letter from Maqueden. For some reason, Astoldominien had neglected to come to her room, so she was enjoying this brief moment of silence. "That night he came to my door and asked me if I would marry him. Apparently, it's his plan to marry me instead of Kyriana, then reveal to the world it's me, not her, that he was engaged to! Kyriana has no problem with it, and neither do I. We've already started planning the wedding, and since I'm not exactly built like Kyriana (the girl's a toothpick!!!) she had to tell the dressmaker that she was pregnant with his child and would be bigger by the wedding date! It's pretty amazing how this whole thing has worked out, you really have to come to the wedding. Surely Astoldominien's healed enough to come to Mirkwood... Even just for a few weeks! If you don't come... I will NEVER forgive you!" Maqueden ended the letter with the phrase "You know I love you!"  
  
Elenna smiled. Her sister's sarcasm annoyed her sometimes, but now that she was marrying Legolas... She really did need to go home. She had been in Gondor for the better part of a year, and she missed Maqueden and Kyriana and Legolas terribly. And Maqueden was right, surely Astoldominien was healed enough to travel to Mirkwood. With a sigh, she placed the letter on her beside table and went to find Astoldominien, who must have decided to show up at her door like he usually did.  
  
Astoldominien, however, was busy looking for her and somehow managed to miss her as she walked down the hall to his room. He knocked on her door and went inside when he heard no answer and was sure she wasn't there. He spotted the letter on her bedside table and his curiosity got the best of him... so he picked it up and began to read...  
  
... and suddenly stopped in the middle of a sentence. Memories came flooding back to him.  
  
A/N: these are his memories...  
  
It was early spring. He and Maqueden had gone hiking, and decided to stop to eat. Maqueden pulled a sandwich and some water out of her bag, sat down on a fallen log, and began to eat. A few minutes passed before Astoldominien broke the silence. "You love him." He smiled. "I don't see why you don't tell him."  
  
"Because I don't want to. I like what we have now- friendship. What happens if I tell him how I feel and he doesn't feel the same way?"  
  
"Life goes on." Astoldominien said simply.  
  
"Life without him? We're Mirkwood's biggest troublemakers! If the duo was to split up... I wouldn't have any friends."  
  
"Well, thanks for counting me!" Astoldominien said, slightly miffed.  
  
"Besides you and Elenna." Maqueden said hurriedly. "And you bug me about Legolas." She muttered under her breath. "I know you love Elenna... but you do nothing about it."  
  
"I'm scared, Maqueden. I will die if she doesn't feel the same way about me." When Maqueden laughed, he glared at her. "I'm being serious. I WILL die of a broken heart."  
  
"What if I said I'd already talked to her and she said she likes you?"  
  
"I think you're lying." Astoldominien said, swallowing a mouthful of water.  
  
"I'm not. She loves you. You love her. Trust me. Tell her how you feel!"  
  
"I just..." Astoldominien sighed. "All right, so now we've both realized that we have love problems. Let's go see a psychiatrist!" Maqueden laughed at this remark. "I'll deal with mine." Astoldominien muttered. "So should you, or you'll find yourself wishing you told him how you felt while you baby- sit his child."  
  
A/N: : ) I like this one... ; )  
  
In this memory, it was late summer. Astoldominien had once again been kidnapped by Maqueden, but this time the Elenna and Legolas were coming as well. Legolas and Maqueden had hoped that this trip would bring Astoldominien and Elenna together... Or closer together than they already were. Elenna was flirting pretty hard with Astoldominien and he was flirting back harder, if that was possible.  
  
So it came to be that the four of them set off from the castle at 11 that morning They neared the spot Legolas and Maqueden had found the night before by around noon. Immediately after pitching the tents the girls left to go find a spot to bathe, leaving Legolas and Astoldominien to talk.  
  
"Why don't you tell her how you feel?" Legolas asked, watching as Astoldominien pitched his and Elenna's tent.  
  
"Because I don't know for sure if she feels the same way." Astoldominien longed to tell Legolas about Maqueden and her feelings for him, but he knew very well that Legolas did not feel the same way about Maqueden. He also knew that Maqueden would be heartbroken and would probably die a very long and painful death.  
  
"Life goes on." Legolas grinned. "If you don't do it tomorrow I'm going to throw you in the river and hold you there until you drown."  
  
"Oh... I'm so scared..." Astoldominien's sarcasm made Legolas laugh.  
  
"Please?" He asked. "For me?" Legolas put on his infamous puppy dog face.  
  
Astoldominien sighed. "Fine." He groaned. "I know I'm gonna regret this..."  
  
When the girls came back, Astoldominien "kidnapped" Elenna and led her to the river, where he then realized it was too late to turn back. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he gathered up his courage, kissed her on the lips, and whispered very softly, "I love you."  
  
Elenna was startled. This wasn't what she had been expecting, since she wasn't sure if he liked her or not... but she liked it. She whispered back. "I love you too." And she kissed him back with all the passion she had built up over the last 400 years.  
  
Behind the trees, Maqueden and Legolas gave each other a hi-five and left to go check on their lunch.  
  
When Elenna and Astoldominien joined them again, both were flushed, especially for elves. Elenna's fingers were intertwined with Astoldominien's and the two both had huge, idiot grins on their faces.  
  
A few hundred years had passed since then. It was spring. Maqueden and Legolas were still the biggest troublemakers in all of Mirkwood and probably in the entire elven race, besides perhaps Elladan and Elrohir. Astoldominien had fallen more in love with Elenna, and she with him. So it was that he found himself carrying a ring in his pocket and arriving at her door in the middle of the night.  
  
"Elenna!" He called, grinning as she came to the door in her nightdress.  
  
"What?" She said rather flatly, leaning against the post that held their roof up.  
  
"Elenna... I love you." He took both her hands in his and led her to a little clearing in the forest.  
  
(SOUND FAMILIAR?)  
  
Astoldominien kneeled in front of her. "Elenna... Will you marry me?" He gently slipped the ring onto her ring finger.  
  
"Yes." She whispered. "I will." She wiped a tear away and straightened in shock as she felt him place a gently kiss on her lips. He wiped her tears away with his sleeve and placed a less gently kiss on her mouth, bestowing such passion on her that it made her knees go weak and she would have collapsed on the floor had he not had an arm behind her back.  
  
The memories were too much for Astoldominien to handle. He made his way towards her door, staggering under the weight of a tidal wave of memories he had lost a thousand years before. Once out in the hall, he wandered aimlessly around looking for Elenna. And then he found her.  
  
"Elenna!" He cried, running to her, wrapping her in an embrace, and kissing her soundly on the lips. "Oh Gods, Elenna, I remember! I remember it all!"  
  
"Astoldominien?" She asked, wriggling out of his bear hold on her and looking him in the eye. "How do...why... WHAT?"  
  
"I was... reading a letter of yours and something in it sparked another memory, and then another, and another... I remember!" He embraced her again, so tightly she could barely breathe.  
  
"Prove to me you remember." She managed to choke out, burying her face in his chest. It felt so good to be back in his arms. She felt life rushing back to her, almost a tidal wave of energy. And suddenly she had the urge to become her old self again instead of being this boring lazy creature she had become.  
  
"The last thing I said to you before I left was 'I promise I'll come back.' And I hugged you and fell off my horse."  
  
Elenna laughed, wiping a tear away from her eye. "Do you really remember me?"  
  
"Would I lie to you?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Didn't think so." And he kissed her again, smothering her with kisses like there was no tomorrow. And the two retreated to her room to think, to hold each other, and to write a very long and descriptive letter to Maqueden.  
  
A/N: Here ya go, one nice chapter for you. I'm writing this at the lake the night before the fourth of July... So we were shooting all these fireworks and one hit me in the chest... and now I have a big black spot there. It hurt, too. Anyway, choir tour was awesome! And now I live in a box of potatoes. Haha! hit with potato It's a long story, and I really don't want to explain. : )  
  
THANKYOU'S!!!!!  
  
Kathysidle- he gets it back, as you can tell. Thanks! I'm glad someone likes my story that much. : )  
  
Manveri[reachforthesky]estel- I have a peanut shooter! And I will use it to fend off rabid fans! But I'm back!!!! With memories!  
  
Lucy loo- band geeks rule! I have a good buddy of mine that plays the oboe!  
  
Butterfly-elf – okies! Your vote has been added! And it's set after LoTR. I messed a lot of stuff up, but who cares?  
  
Blondeducky77- yes but I have a peanut gun shooter thingy... yeah. I'll shoot your elephants! Not really...  
  
Aliana Archer- they had to change the dress size because Kyriana is built like a toothpick and Maqueden isn't.  
  
I got 9 reviews while I was gone and they all got deleted... so if you reviewed, srry!!!  
  
Tootles! 


	19. Memories and Letters

A/N: Okies, I'm leaving for Seattle tomorrow, but I am taking my laptop so I will write. If I bring the internet card I will update. The floppy drive doesn't work so… yeah.

With a little less than a week left until the wedding date, things were getting more than a little hectic. Maqueden was very stressed about the wedding, what with what Thranduil's reaction would be. Legolas was trying to keep her sane while also trying to keep himself de-stressed. All in all, it wasn't working. They were both scared out of their minds.

Maqueden, Legolas, and Kyriana left the castle one morning to find someone to cater the reception. After hours of searching, they finally found someone with elves people on staff to cater the huge reception. So it was that the three came in after a day of walking to find the dressmaker waiting for them in the entrance hall. Maqueden's dress was ready. The dressmaker commented on how "it was not made to fit a mother-to-be" and left when Legolas "accidentally" picked up his bow.

Maqueden laughed. She kicked off her shoes and sat down on Legolas's chair, and was almost asleep when someone knocked on his door. She heard Legolas walk to the door and open it, and was dimly aware of him speaking to someone. Then she heard the door closing and the sound of Legolas walking back across the room. He laid a hand on her shoulder and gently shook her awake, then showed her something held in his hand.

"It's a letter from Elenna. Apparently she got your last letter and is coming home with Astoldominien."

"WHAT?!" In surprise, Maqueden sat up and snatched the letter from Legolas, then read it for herself.

"Maqueden and Legolas," It read. "I received your last letter and I must give my thanks to Maqueden, who is entirely responsible for the return of Astoldominien's memory. He found her last letter in my room and read it, and somehow it sparked a memory… and now he remembers everything. We're coming home as soon as we can, and we hope we'll be there for your wedding… And Maqueden told us it was supposed to be a secret, so we haven't told anyone yet."

The rest of the letter was spent yammering on about things going on in Gondor, and what Aragorn's children were like, and boring things like that. Astoldominien ended the letter with: "You had better forgive her because you know darn well that I can take you down anytime, any place." Maqueden laughed; she knew he was referring to a centuries old bet they had made as to who was stronger. The bet had yet to be settled and the penalty for losing was running naked around the wall on the top of the castle in the middle of a thunderstorm. And if the loser got struck by lightning during their 100-yard dash, the winner was to submit to the same punishment.

Legolas laughed at the end of the letter and listened as Maqueden explained to him what the closing meant. He sighed and flopped down on his bed. Maqueden smiled and sat down next to him, yawning and laying her head on his shoulder.

"It's late." He whispered. "You should go to sleep."

"I know." She sighed. "But so should you. You need it more than I do…" She yawned again.

"Nah." He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm not that tired."

Maqueden grinned. "I'm going home now." She yawned once more on her way out the door. Just as she reached for the door handle, she stopped, turned around, and blew him a kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow." She called as she closed his door.

"All right… I love you!" He called back. "One week." He thought to himself. "Just one more week and I won't have to keep this from my father any longer!!!" With that happy thought resting in his head, he took Maqueden's advice and fell asleep.

BACK IN GONDOR…

There was a little less than a week until the wedding. Elenna and Astoldominien were packing frantically in hopes of making it back in time to see Maqueden and Legolas pull off what might be the biggest stunt ever premeditated in Mirkwood and probably all of Middle Earth. Astoldominien was in his room, she was in hers. Already she had one bag packed, and she was working on the other. She was wearing some breeches and a loose shirt that Maqueden had left behind when she had returned to Mirkwood.

Astoldominien came into her room, shouldering his pack so he could give her a hug. Elenna threw her last dress into her bag and turned to face him. "Are you ready?"

"Yes."

She smiled. "Let's go. I've already told Aragorn and Arwen that we were leaving. All that's left to do is actually leave."

"So let's leave."

"All rightey then!" Elenna picked up her bags (they're… like saddle bags… I don't really know how to explain it…) and walked out the door of her room and into the hallway, where the seven daughters of Aragorn and Arwen stood to bid them farewell.

A/N: Okies. So I was working on the other story I'm writing and a sever bout of writers block decided it would like to try me as a home. This is what I got out before it decided it liked me too much to leave. I'm also leaving for Seattle in a week and would like to get at least one chapter on the other story I'm working on up, so don't expect another update before then. And yes, I can (and will) shoot peanuts at you from Seattle, too. Unless you live in Seattle. BTW, was anyone at the Diamondbacks game the night all the people in orange shirts sang the National Anthem? If you live in America? : ) And not England or something? Because if you do, I envy you very greatly!!!!!! thinks to self I AM THE QUEEN OF RANDOMNESS!!!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA person more random than author WOODEN BADGERS! author NO! MY TITLE HAS BEEN TAKEN AWAY!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! sob

And now that I have finished with my page long rant, I'm going to go try to figure out what the heck I want to do with the other story! Goodbye!


	20. The Great Return of Dad

A/N: Ok, we're done with the invisibible spiders. (Twitches) I hate spiders.

And now, without further ado, the chapter.

There were three days left until the wedding. Elenna and Astoldominien had not yet arrived in Mirkwood, which only added to Maqueden's already heavy amount of stress. Currently, she was trying on her wedding dress one last time to give Kyriana something to do.

She came out of her room and into the kitchen, wearing her dress. Kyriana smiled. "You look great." She said, flipping the veil back so that Maqueden's face was visible.

"Thanks." Maqueden said shakily, sitting down on a chair beside the table. "I'm nervous." She blurted out suddenly. "I mean… What if this doesn't work out? What if… What if Thranduil finds out? He'll kill me! I think I'm gonna die an unmarried elf…"

"Breathe." Kyriana commanded, placing her hands on Maqueden's shoulders and shaking her a bit. "My father's coming back today, how do you think I feel? I'd trade places with you in a heartbeat."

"Sorry… I like my position now, thank you. If you're scared of him you can come spend a couple of days with me… And Elenna, if she makes it home in time…"

"Thanks, but he'd know I was running from him. Listen, I found a glitch in our plan. Everyone still thinks you are me, and it is customary for the bride's father to walk her down the aisle…"

Maqueden groaned. "He'd kill me if he knew I wasn't you!" She put her head in her hands and groaned. "Now I KNOW I'm gonna die an unmarried elf!"

"Yeah… He would… But Thranduil told me yesterday that Ada is no longer allowed to walk me down the aisle… So now you get Thranduil!" Kyriana exclaimed happily. "I just said that to see how you would react."

Maqueden groaned inwardly. "WHY?!" She squeaked. "Thranduil's worse!"

"No he's not. Now go change. I promised Legolas we'd meet him before Ada comes home." Kyriana ordered, shooing Maqueden out of the kitchen and into her room.

The two arrived at the castle at the same time as Kyriana's father. Alaklain dismounted his horse and slung his bow over his shoulder. He did not look very happy at all. For one, he had lost about 20 pounds, which was a big deal, because he had already been rail-thin. His hair was tangled and knotted, and great pieces of it hung in his eyes. His clothes were torn. He no longer wore shoes and there was a wad of something sticky on his shirt, not to mention the several stains. He growled as he passed Kyriana, who glared back at him with an attitude that said, "I am not afraid." If time had taught her only one thing, it was to not fear her father. He could do her no harm now that Thranduil was keeping him under close surveillance.

Legolas appeared behind the two girls. Laughing inwardly, he gave Kyriana's shoulder a reassuring squeeze and slipped his hand into Maqueden's. He knew they were both scared out of their wits, but for separate reasons. Long after everyone had gone inside, the famous trio remained.

A/N: Super short. I'm really sorry! But there was nothing to put in this chapter besides Kyriana's father coming home. There is lots of fluff coming up! In… ummm… 2 chapters! Yay! Cuz that's the wedding! Sorry I haven't updated in forever… I got sidetracked with other stuff… And in a week I have band camp again so I won't be writing any more until after school starts because it's from 8 AM to 9 PM. I have an obsessive band director. SIGH.

(Does happy dance)

Goodnight, all you lovely people! Muahahahahahahahahahahaha (hit by some random orc sword) (author) (ARGH! MY LEG!) (dies) Oh rats. Not you can't have any more story. And I have a high powered peanut shooter… SO I can shoot peanuts at you from all the way from Seattle. Unless you happen to live there… And if you do and you've noticed the heat, it's because I'm here. My family always brings the heat with us. It just sorta… follows us. Hehehehehehehehehe. (grins) Tootles!

THANK YOU'S!!!

Saraline-elven-fair – thanks!

Maveri [reachforthesky] estel- I think this one focused more on Kyriana. I'll try to write a sequel once school gets started… But I'm currently on chapter 4 of a 24 chapter story about code Lyoko, so… Yeah. If I can handle it I'll start on the sequel, but it might take a while. Especially with marching band and everything… (Sighs) I hate band. AUGH!!! STUPID BAND CAMP!!!

Crecy- Nope. I'm not getting married. I'm too young! I'm only 40! (in elven years…) I forgot my human age years ago…

Ok… That's only three reviews… C'mon, you guys can do better than that! I predict a thousand reviews when I get home… You have three days! Start writing!

I'm gone!


	21. The Night Before

A/N: OK, I'm leaving from Seattle in 2 days, so yeah. I hope this chapter gets up before I have to go to band camp! Right, here's what I'm gonna do. I'm in the middle of a Code Lyoko fic right now so I'm gonna keep writing that. I will write a sequel to this, it may just not be up for a while. You'll have to wait at least until mid-august, when I've had a chance to get used to my school schedule. This sequel involves Elenna and Astoldominien's wedding, Maqueden's first child… And Kyriana might even get a lover of her own. Who knows? Oh right… ME!!!! I love being the author…

And now for the story you all endured my long and endless rant for.

Elenna was bored stiff. Literally. She was tired of being bounced around on her horse, tired of waiting to get to Mirkwood, and tired of wondering just how in the world Maqueden was going to pull this wedding off. She and Astoldominien had been traveling slowly, but with the wedding the day after tomorrow, she was starting to get a little worried that she wasn't going to make it.

Astoldominien looked across his horse's head to see Elenna, slumped in her saddle, thinking deeply on some problem or another. To ease her worry, Astoldominien laid a hand on her shoulder. His touch startled her out of her thoughts and she looked up to see his worried face staring back at her.

"Sorry." She muttered, looking back out to the long, open spaces ahead of them.

"What's on your mind?" Astoldominien asked.

"I'm just afraid that we're not going to make it back in time. We made the journey to Gondor in about a week. It's taken us twice that to get halfway."

"I thought you wanted to take it slow." He looked surprised.

"For you. You just got your memory back."

"Riding a horse is not going to hurt me, I assure you." He smiled, then added, "You sound like my mother."

Elenna laughed, then frowned. "I'm not sure if that was a compliment or an insult."

"It was both." Astoldominien laughed. "When is the wedding again?"

"The day after tomorrow." Elenna answered with a sigh. "I'm so scared I'm not going to make it."

"You will. We're riding faster after we stop to eat." Astoldominien pulled his horse to a stop.

"We are?" Elenna traveled five or so more feet before she realized he had stopped.

"I am. Whether you come with me or not is up to you."

"All right then, I'm coming with you." Elenna laughed.

"Good." Was all Astoldominien said before he suddenly hopped off his horse and proceeded to dig out the food that Arwen had sent with them. Elenna was struck with the sudden memory of how much he ate and laughed as she dismounted.

After lunch they rode hard all afternoon, until darkness fell and they could no longer see which way to go. Not to mention the danger from all the holes in the ground… So Astoldominien stopped, helped Elenna down, and prepared to go to sleep. Things were still awkward between them- Astoldominien knew he loved Elenna and knew she loved him back, but things were… different now. He was still remembering things, and he _had_ kissed her that day in Gondor… but that didn't mean anything. But at least he remembered her. That was a start.

They slept late the next morning. Elenna was the first one up, and woke Astoldominien with her yelp when she realized how high the sun had gotten. "Wake up!" She cried, shaking him. "It's almost noon!"

Astoldominien groggily disentangled himself from the mess of blankets on the ground. "I don't wanna go!" He mumbled, shaking his head to clear it. They packed their things, mounted their horses, and rode away, faster than one of Legolas's arrows gone wild. Which is pretty fast…

By two the next morning, they were in Mirkwood.

It was probably 10:30 at night. Maqueden lay awake in her bedroom, staring at the ceiling. A great sadness lay within her- Elenna was not home yet. With a sigh, she rolled over and buried her face in her pillow, too tired to scream but wanting to all the same.

A hand touched her shoulder and she yelped, then rolled over to face her attacker, hands covering her face. Her ears heard the pleasant sound of Legolas laughing at her.

"What are you doing here?" She whispered. "You know it's bad luck to see the bride on the day of the wedding!"

"It's 11:30. I'll leave before midnight."

Maqueden smiled and sat up. "I'm so nervous." She whispered as Legolas wrapped her in a hug and pulled her to his chest.

"So am I." He laughed. "You could never tell by looking at me, but my knees are shaking very badly right about now."

Maqueden laughed, then fell back onto her pillows. "Did you ever think it would turn out this way?"

"Honestly… No." He laughed as he ran his fingers through her hair. "I never did."

"If you don't want to do this… I mean… You don't have to… It's not like I'm getting cold feet or anything, it's just… Gods, I don't know!" She laughed.

"Maqueden…" Legolas grinned. "Look at me." He commanded, turning her head so that she had no choice but to stare straight into his eyes. "I love you." He whispered, kissing her gently. "I always will." He drew her into a tight embrace.

Maqueden smiled. "I think I'm gonna pass out during the wedding. Gods, I'm nervous. What if your father finds out before the wedding? What if _Kyriana's _father finds out before the wedding?" She let out a frightened squeak, then threw herself at Legolas. "They'll KILL me!!!!"

"Hey, they'll kill me too." Legolas informed her. "It's not like I'm getting away easily, either."

"Yes… but… I'm just getting married! I'm too YOUNG to die!!!" She yelped. She then looked at the clock on the wall. (Ok, yeah, elves don't have clocks on the walls… but whatever. It goes with the plot, so deal with it.) It read 11:58. "It's almost midnight." She said.

"I know."

"Are you going to leave?"

The hand moved. The clock now read 11:59.

"Yes."

"Legolas…"

"I love you." He whispered. Then, he kissed her with everything he had. And suddenly, he was gone. Maqueden was left shaking.

It was probably two hours later when she heard the door suddenly creak open. She knew Legolas would not have come back for any reason, so she stood from her position by the window and reached for her knife, which lay hidden on her bedside table. She then slowly made her way down the hall and into the kitchen. What she saw made her drop the knife, with the dull side landing on her foot.

Elenna was back. With Astoldominien.

Maqueden let out a strangled cry of joy, then ran to greet her sister.

A/N: Ok. I'm gonna post this in the morning… before I go to band camp. This will probably be the last update before school starts, and it may take me a while to get used to the schedule… So yeah. If I don't update for a while don't worry. I WILL finish this story. Yeah, about band camp… I've got a break over the weekend, so I'm gonna try to finish at least one more chapter before school starts. As of now, all other stories are on hold because I have been berated by some of my friends to finish. So I am. Hehehe… Yeah.

Aliana Archer- hehe, actually, Thranduil _almost _kills Maqueden. It's kinda funny. But there will be invisible spiders again… later… Maybe in the sequel.

Tiniwiel Silvertree- Ok, ok… I'll shoot… um… Ooh! Ok, instead of peanuts, I'll shoot tape at you. (I'm in my room and there's tape… Hehe.) Thank you!!!! I like it when people tell me I have a good imagination! And I'm not dead, since this chapter's up… But I may die next week during band camp… All of you must constantly remind me that it only lasts until October.

butterfly-elf- I will! Thanks!

Kathysidle- hehe. Darned dads and their darned habits…

Jack- Thanks! I'll try to!

Queen Insanity- Thank you! I'll try… It may take me a while…


	22. WEDDING DAY!

A/N: Here it is!!! The moment you've all been waiting for! LEGOLAS IS GETTING MARRIED!!!!!!!! YAY! I'm sitting here, talking to my boyfriend and writing this chapter… I'm really going to try to get it up and finish this story before school starts or you'll all be allowed to shoot peanuts at me, minus Tiniwiel Silvertree. Who gets to shoot me with lots of tape.

Maqueden managed to get a few hours of sleep before she woke suddenly around 6 A.M. the next morning. Too excited and nervous to sleep any longer, she wrote a note to her sister and Astoldominien, telling them to come to the castle when they woke up. She then grabbed some breakfast and left. She forced herself to eat some fruit, even though her nerves made her believe she really wasn't that hungry at all. Those elephants that currently inhabited her stomach were really starting to get to her.

She walked slowly, biding her time, afraid Kyriana might not be awake yet. The wedding was set for noon, so most normal, sleep-loving elves named Kyriana and Legolas probably wouldn't be awake yet. She sat on the stone steps for almost an hour before she finally worked up the nerve to go inside and face the wrath of what Thranduil would say if he knew what was going on right under his nose.

Kyriana was pacing the entrance to her room. "Where have you been?" She asked, the strain obvious in her voice. "You're supposed to be there by 10!"

"The wedding's not until noon…" Maqueden opened the door and went inside.

"Yes… But you were asked to be there by 10." Kyriana said, reminding Maqueden of a mother hen.

Maqueden sighed and sat down on the bed. "All right, don't get your panties in a bunch. I'm here now. Work your magic."

"First you put your dress on." Kyriana opened her closet, where she had been keeping the dress in case someone had the sudden urge to make sure that the prince and would-be princess really _were_ getting married. It was white, of course, with roses sewn onto the fabric in red and pink thread. The very poofy skirt went down past her ankles. There was no train- The bottom of the dress simply touched the ground in a very elegant fashion.

It took twenty whole minutes for Kyriana to convince Maqueden to put the dress on, another twenty to actually put it on, and fifteen more to get all the various buttons and snaps fixed.

"You look absolutely gorgeous." She informed her friend, taking a step back to admire her handiwork.

Maqueden smiled. "I'm so nervous!!!" She cried, her calm and composed outer shell shattering. "What if this whole plan falls apart?" She sat down on the bed with a thump and bounced a few times before she finally came to a rest.

"It won't."

Maqueden smiled, still not reassured. Kyriana then moved on to fixing her hair.

"Ouch!" Maqueden yelped as Kyriana tugged rather hard on a knot in her hair.

"Sorry!" She tugged even harder until the knot finally untangled itself, then managed to somehow get Maqueden's hair into a tight bun on the back of her head.

By 11 o'clock, the girls were ready to go to the wedding.

Maqueden was sitting on the stool in a room just outside where the wedding was to take place, trying to put her veil on, when a knock was heard at the door. "Come in!" She called.

Kyriana's father walked into the room. Maqueden shot him a murderous glare from under her veil, thankful he couldn't see her face, and turned back to the mirror.

"You're just lucky it's your wedding day." He growled, squeezing her shoulder rather hard. "Or I would beat you so hard you wouldn't be able to walk again. You can be sure of that. You told him, you little b!" (Srry… I bleeped it out…) "There WERE no spiders. He sent me away to keep you from me."

"Yes. I thought it was a rather good plan!" Maqueden said cheerfully. "Gods, ada, what else was I supposed to do?"

"I'll KILL YOU!" He screamed in rage, lunging for her. At that moment two guards burst into the room, tackling Alaklain and apologizing profusely to the rather disgruntled bride. "Sorry, miss… He must have slipped past us…"

"Please make sure it doesn't happen again." Maqueden gave them a smile from behind the veil and turned back to the mirror, one last time.

Kyriana, dressed as Maqueden, popped into the room, accompanied by Elenna. "Wedding in 10!" She called.

Maqueden lifted the veil up. "Your father just tried to kill me." She said in a rather bored tone of voice.

"Yeah… He has anger management issues…"

Maqueden laughed. "Gods… I'm about to pass out!"

"You'll be fine. Thranduil still thinks Kyriana's you and you are her. It can't go wrong!" Elenna said cheerfully.

"I hope so. If someone finds out before said time, I swear I'm gonna sit on you both." Maqueden paused.

Kyriana and Elenna laughed. "Odd punishment… All right. Get up."

Elenna took hold of Maqueden's arm and dragged her out of the dressing room and into the open and very deserted hallway, then pushed her towards Thranduil, who had just appeared around the corner.

Thranduil immediately noticed something strange about the two girls. Maqueden was too skinny. Kyriana was not as skinny as her usual self. And Maqueden, instead of having strawberry-blonde hair, had brown hair. (Ok, Maqueden's not fat. She's just not as skinny as Kyriana, who looks like she's got anorexia or something, even though she really doesn't… Maqueden's just very… healthy looking.)

Elenna gave her sister a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder, then turned and left. Kyriana/Maqueden followed her.

It took Thranduil a moment to put it all together. Maqueden with brown hair… Kyriana with red hair… And then, the final piece clicked into place. "Maqueden?" Thranduil whispered, looking at the girl he had previously thought was Kyriana.

Maqueden lowered her head and nodded.

Thranduil lifted the veil off her face. "Sweet Eru, you _are_ Maqueden!"

"It's a long story." Maqueden said sheepishly, avoiding direct eye contact with Thranduil. "The wedding's started… I'll explain later. Please… don't say anything?" _You really weren't supposed to find out… Well, that means I'll just have to sit on said girls later…_

"I promise."

The doors opened and the two slowly made their way down the aisle.

Legolas looked up from where he was standing. Maqueden was walking down the aisle, her hand around Thranduil's arm. She gave him a very discreet "thumbs up" sign, indicating that everything was all right.

The wedding took about as long as possible. A guard standing beside Alaklain almost passed out twice because he had his knees locked. A spider spun a complete web around one of the chairs. But despite that, everything went smoothly until the very end… The famed kiss.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." Thranduil said, stumbling a bit over the last few words. He had just allowed Maqueden, a girl with no royal blood at all, to marry his son… THE FAMOUS PRINCE OF MIRKWOOD!!!

Legolas took a deep breath and lifted the veil off of Maqueden's face. Simultaneously, a very large, very loud gasp went through the crowd when they saw Maqueden in Kyriana's place. Legolas drew her into a soft and short kiss.

Alaklain, who had been sitting in the very back, suddenly jumped up. "I swore I'd kill you and I will!" He screamed. Kyriana/Maqueden broke away from Legolas stared at him. Maqueden/Kyriana jumped on her father, tackling him. He fell and hit his head hard against the hard stone floor and didn't move again until after he was chained up and thrown into the dungeons.

(A:N/ It sounds like a fairy tale… SIGH)

Thranduil slowly made his way down the aisle to where Legolas, Maqueden, and Kyriana stood. Most of the guests had left already, though Elenna and Astoldominien remained in the back of the room for moral support.

"You three. In my office. Now."

A/N: OK! THEY'RE MARRIED! Band camp started today… You may all shoot me with non-fatal items, please. And now I'm going to run away before I get killed by peanuts and balls of tape. Oh right… School starts on Sugust 9th. I'll try to have this up by then.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! (dies from peanut shot to heart)

I have no next of kin to finish this story for me. Unless you count my brother… who writes depressing poetry… So yeah. Tootles!

THANK YOU'S!!!!!!!

Jack- nope. I haven't and I don't know anyone who has.

Aliana Archer- yeah… Funny as in not "haha…" But nope… He gets thrown into the dungeons with spiders that he can't see. So they're invisible… sorta…

The Green Maiden- Yeah. You get to shoot me with tape if you want to. (dies from tape shot to spleen) Don't worry… No one dies… Yet… I might from all the sun…

Manveri[reachforthesky]estel- Thanks! I'm at it again… If I ever mention marching again, please shoot me with peanuts! Never seen Troy… SIGH. Darn R rating! ORLANDO BLOOM IS MINE!!! I CLAIM HIM!!! HIS POSTER IS OVER MY BED!!!

Xylem- oooo…kkk… I'm confused… COOL NICKNAME!!!

MerenwenCerneisr- Don't worry… I'm taking a break for a while to get used to school and junk like that. It may be October or something… But I'll post a sequel!

Minileia- Do I know you? … SIGH… BAND CAMP IS GOING TO KILL ME!!!!

Goodnight all! Sleep well and dream of Legolas and Maqueden! Or Elenna and Astoldominien! Or Kyriana and I'm not tellin'! But she's gonna have a boyfriend! Yay! And (sing song voice) Maqueden's gonna have a baby! Yay!

TOOTLES! Muahahahahahahahahahaha (hit with dirty elven diaper)


	23. Confused?

A/N: In the last chapter, Legolas and Maqueden got married and Thranduil figured out what was happening as he was walking Maqueden down the aisle. So now he's made Kyriana and Maqueden and Legolas all pile into his office to explain what in the world was going on.

And here is the chapter you've all waited so patiently for. And yes, you may all shoot me with peanuts and balls of tape. I had one reviewer who is going to shoot me with crunch berries. School starts in two days… (runs away from mob of angry reviewers)

"What is going on?" Thranduil asked harshly as he seated himself in a large, squashy chair in his office.

Legolas sighed and looked at the ground. Maqueden turned her head away from Thranduil's questioning glance and looked out the window. Kyriana cleared her throat and looked away uncomfortably.

"I'm not going to make you get a divorce." Thranduil spoke again, his tone gentler this time. "I just want to know what is going on!" He paused. "In fact, I think this match is better than the other. I just… wasn't going to force you to marry her because of your being best friends and all. It would have been… awkward, to say the least."

Kyriana laughed. Maqueden grinned and spoke quietly. "I… er…"

Thranduil laughed. "I know."

There was an awkward silence and Legolas cleared his throat, then spoke. "I'd… uh… I'd been trying to think of ways to get myself out of this wedding since the night you told me it was going to happen." He said sheepishly.

"So he came to me for help." Maqueden said. "And I gave him all my ideas, but none of them were good enough." She paused. "Actually, most of them were too crazy to even think about considering."

"I didn't really want to marry him either… My father forced me into this." Kyriana spoke shyly, suddenly afraid of Thranduil and what he would do. "So I joined them and started adding my ideas."

"I'd had a crush on Legolas for years… I lost count in the mid-thousands." Maqueden put in mildly. "And he…"

"I started having… romantic feelings for her." Legolas flushed bright red, trying not to show his embarrassment in front of his father. Elves were supposed to be calm and composed all the time, right? Well, not this elf. This elf was scared out of his wits.

"And about the time we all went to Gondor to see Astoldominien, they became… Romantically involved." Kyriana said quietly. "At that time we didn't realize we could get out of it using that piece of information."

"This whole thing was her idea." Legolas said. "And actually… It was before we all left… I sort of…" He paused, took a deep breath, and exploded into an explanation. "I started to like her and went to Alaklain for advice and it turns out that Maqueden went to Novancaion for advice and we bumped into each other on the stairs and I kissed her and she ran away so I followed her and then…" He laughed.

"By a month or so…" Maqueden chuckled and leaned on the window ledge. "We'd been back for… I don't know, a few weeks probably, when she got the idea that I should marry Legolas in her place and came and told Legolas. And that night he proposed to me and explained what was going on." Maqueden turned her eyes away from the window and back to the room.

"So we started planning the wedding all over again. That's why she had the thick veil… We didn't want people to know it was her until the last possible minute." Kyriana said. "We were afraid of what you would do if you knew… That's why you… ah… weren't informed of our little escapade."

Thranduil laughed. "I've got to hand it to you… this plan was brilliant!" He laughed again. "All right, all right. Go enjoy yourselves at the reception. We'll finish this discussion tomorrow."

The three rose to leave when Thranduil stopped them. "Legolas?"

"Yes, Ada?"

"You never did tell me where you were going for your honeymoon."

Legolas grinned. "Gondor."

Maqueden and Legolas grinned, then walked hand in hand out of the room, with Kyriana tagging along behind.

The reception was great. Elenna and Astoldominien were dancing, Allyiah and Novancaion were there, and even Artariel was there… hiding in a corner, of course, but the fact that she was out of her room made it even more spectacular.

Legolas and Maqueden shared the first dance, then watched as others joined in. Maqueden danced with Thranduil, the closest thing she had to a father, and Legolas stood by and watched.

Elenna approached Maqueden as she stood off to the side while Legolas was talking to some random guard. "Your Highness." She said, faking an accent and curtseying so low her nose touched her knees.

"Stop it, Elenna." Maqueden laughed. "You're still my sister. My being royalty doesn't change a thing."

"I know." Elenna sighed and leaned against the wall. "It's just… so different than it was a year ago. He was your best friend, not your lover…"

"He still is my best friend." Maqueden smiled. "No, wait, that's you. Legolas is one of my best friends… Him being my husband and all is just… a bonus." She sighed and leaned against the wall, next to Elenna. "Gods, I feel lucky."

"You are." Elenna smiled. "You're a random girl who happens to be the prince's best-friend-turned-lover. That doesn't happen every day, you know."

"I know." Maqueden smiled as Legolas disengaged himself from his conversation, then make his way towards her and Elenna.

"Good luck." Elenna whispered, then left Maqueden to go talk to Astoldominien.

"I'm tired." Maqueden said three hours later, when they were still partying.

"We can leave." He muttered, taking her hand.

"Lets." Maqueden grinned as she and Legolas slipped out the door. They paused at the entrance hall to let Thranduil know where they were going, then turned the corner and went straight to Legolas's room.

(A/N: This is still PG 13 rated… I don't do lemons… Too young to read, write, or see… Don't plan on reading, writing, or seeing any lemons… Really don't want to offend anyone… So you can keep reading if you were about to stop…)

"Legolas?" Maqueden asked once she emerged from the bathroom in her pajamas.

"Hmm?" He was, once again, unbraiding his hair. Maqueden stood behind him and worked on taking her hair down and out of the bun Kyriana had put it in.

"I love you." She whispered, her hair falling down. The humidity had caused it to curl and it now hung in little ringlets around her face. She reached for her hair tie and made to pull it back, but Legolas's hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"It looks good down." He smiled, kissing her gently. "Gods, I love you too." He whispered, wrapping her in an embrace. "So much."

A/N: Here ya go! One more chapter… And I'm DONE! And in the sequel… Is Legolas and Maqueden's first child, Kyriana's lover, and Elenna and Astoldominien's… uh… something! And who knows? Artariel might even find some cute Gondorian guard…

THANK YOU'S!!!

Xylem- you sound like my other half… Named Fred… Fred's strange. She thinks she can to a back flip with a double twist… Anyway, I know how painful knees can be. I hurt mine marching, but my mom and family went to the beach and took all the asprin with them… And I COULDN'T EVEN SIT DOWN!!! And my knee STILL hurts!

Aliana Archer- thanks! Yes… He will be mentioned in the sequel once or twice and there might even be _real_ invisible spiders for him to deal with. : )

Elven-dreamer- thanks!

Lucy Loo- Yep. I start the 9th on the 9th! I'm a freshman! Low man (girl) on the totem pole! GO ME! (ducks from pillows) HA! YOU MISSED! (hit with lots of peanuts)

Geegi- thanks! I'll take that to mind…

MerenwenCarnesir- Hey… At least you _have_ internet… My family left me at home while they went to the beach and the internet was down for five days… I stopped listening to stuff like Linkin Park and Avril Lavigne and started listening to stuff like Bach and Pachebel. Piano players from long ago. Just shows you what can happen to me when I am seperated from the internet for too long…

Manveri[reachforthesky]estel- (revives reviewer with good dose of peanuts) Yeah… I don't think it was written like it should have been… I'll probably go back and fix it… Yes, I read Artemis Fowl. Sorta… my brother got me hooked on it.

Prettyfoot- yeah… I know… but oh well… Math really isn't my thing…

The Green Maiden- oh well… You're not fighting me, you're fighting Fred, my alternate personality… Who has claimed gorgemous Orli for her own. Yes, Fred is a girl.

Lilly Anne Potter- oooo…kkk… Crunch Berries are cool, I guess… I got Lucky Charms thrown at me…

That's all folks!


	24. Epilogue

A/N: This is the epilogue... I'm trying to get this written, edited, and posted in one day because I have band and school and junk like that tomorrow... I'm starting the 9th on the 9th... And I'm scared... THE SENIORS ARE GOING TO EAT ME ALIVE!!!!! EEP!

Two weeks later, Maqueden, Elenna, Legolas, Kyriana, and Astoldominien were all in Gondor enjoying themselves and chatting with Aragorn and Arwen. Kyriana was thrilled to be back, especially since she was so close to Arwen. Elenna and Astoldominien had found a steady habit of sneaking off to be alone in the garden, and jokes were told over the dinner table about just what they had been doing. The fact of the matter was, Astoldominien was working up the courage to propose to Elenna... Again. The first time he had tried he had fallen out a window and forgotten about her for a thousand years.

He worked up all the courage possible (and then some) and led her by the hand out of the dining room and into the garden. Maqueden and Legolas grinned; they knew what was coming. Astoldominien had talked to Maqueden about it the night before, just to make sure everything was still all right. Frankly, Maqueden was flattered- to be considered the closest thing to Elenna's father, that is. She had, of course, said yes, and knew what he was about to do. Astoldominien had asked that she not tell Elenna what was about to happen and Maqueden honored his request, wanting more than anything to see the look on Elenna's face when she was proposed to for the second time in a thousand years.

Outside in the garden, Astoldominien took a deep, cleansing breath. He turned back to face her and bent on one knee, then took Elenna's hand in his. "I know I've already asked you and everything, but I wanted to ask you again... You know, it being a thousand years since I did last time and all..." He paused. "Anyway, what I wanted to say is..." He took another deep, cleansing breath, then plunged in. "Elenna... Will you marry me?"

There was a long pause and Astoldominien started to lose courage. A tear ran down her cheek and it took Astoldominien a little while to realize they were tears of joy, not of sadness or grief or pain. Then, the response. When she replied, it was in little more than a whisper.

"Yes."

A/N: It's OVER!!! Finished! Through! I've got another story started and I'd like to get used to my schedule and the story itself before I continue this one. You can expect a sequel by... I dunno, mid-september, October-ish. All updates will be sporadic until marching season is over... which should be around November... And that's all! Tootles!

I will thank every reciewer right after I say a few words to Marpessa.

First- Who's making you read this story? Not me. And if all you can do is sit around on your big fat butt and eat twinkies and make rude comments about the things other people have worked so hard on, maybe you should just go and start your _own_ website for ego-bashing authors and you can _all _sit around on your big fat butts eating twinkies and making rude comments about the things you haven't worked hard on at all.

Second- GET OFF MY BACK! You wanna know something? Ok, maybe not, but I'm going to tell you anyway. Just a bit of advice... Maybe you should consider writing your _own_ story and perfecting it before you get all ticked off because we didn't follow the plot to the letter. THIS IS WHY IT IS CALLED Notice the fan fiction part. IT'S FICTION!!! So go write a fan fiction. And when you graduate from criticizing and flaming to actually writing something and wean yourself off twinkies, let me know. Then maybe we'll talk.

Third- While I have never read the Iliad _or_ the Oddesy, I do know that they were both written by a blind Greek poet named Homer. I also know that the plot of the "epic poem" (it's NOT a story!!!!) differs greatly from that of the movie _Troy_. I _also_ was not going to see it just because of Orlando Bloom. Thank you.

Fourth- Last thing. I DON'T WEAR MAKEUP!!! And leave Xylem out of this, she didn't do anything.

(author breathes deeply for several minutes before she continues)

Ok. To all other people who weren't named Marpessa.

Xylem- kindly ignore Marpessa's comments.

Krissilee06

Aragorn4ever

Kathysidle

Manveri[reachforthesky]estel

Lucy Loo

Aliana Archer

Merenwen Carnesir

Saraline-elven-fair

Lilly Anne Potter

The Green Maiden

Prettyfoot

Geegi

Elven-dreamer

Minileia

Boogalaga

KiwiGreenleaf

Audi katia

Gk gurl

Queen Insanity

Butterfly-elf

Tiniwiel Slivertree

Crecy

Lotr princess

Cyberwing

SweetKrok

Voldie on Varsity Track

Blondeducky77

ArienKaleniel

()

AnGeL

Merenwen/Shili-Dwelf of Lorien

Nilimade

Cherryfaerie

Arwen-the-first

Johnny Reb and Billy Yank

Drummerchick1988

Emski and Lorksi

Lotrcrazyyy

Juliet Faramirae

Mystress Deidra

Rebel Dreamer

Tenacious D

Anuri-Chan

Lil Lego

Glittery Banana

Kiran

Starlit Horses

Alatariel Princess of Mirkwood

Lgstarbaby07

I-Love-Logolas

Arsinoe Selene

Dust In The Wind

Skatergirl

Crazy llama

Yahoo-chocolate-bars

Arwen's-Fate

Lady Pirates

Lady Deidra

Moonbunny77

Sterlingpyro

Silcawen Uvanimor-dreamgirlfifi

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!!!! And the total reaview count, as of now, is... 144!!!!!! (falls over dead)


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